U.S. patent number 3,779,177 [Application Number 05/129,694] was granted by the patent office on 1973-12-18 for modular furniture.
Invention is credited to Ernesto Nesofsky Gigante.
United States Patent |
3,779,177 |
Gigante |
December 18, 1973 |
MODULAR FURNITURE
Abstract
Modular furniture such as wardrobes, clothes lockers, shelving,
sliding door cabinets, filing cabinets and the like, is assembled
from extruded sections that snap together at their ends and that
also have special interconnecting members. Particular provision is
made for the reception of sliding door panels and for the hanging
of shelves from the modules, the sliding doors being lockable.
Inventors: |
Gigante; Ernesto Nesofsky
(Madrid, ES) |
Family
ID: |
8455502 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/129,694 |
Filed: |
March 31, 1971 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
108/158.12;
312/108; 312/257.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
96/1416 (20130101); F16B 12/40 (20130101); A47B
47/05 (20130101); F16B 12/26 (20130101); F16B
12/20 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
96/00 (20060101); A47B 96/14 (20060101); A47B
47/00 (20060101); A47B 47/05 (20060101); F16B
12/40 (20060101); F16B 12/00 (20060101); F16B
12/20 (20060101); F16B 12/26 (20060101); A47b
043/00 (); A47b 047/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/108,111,140,257,257A,263,341NR,350 ;108/111,157 ;211/177,18V
;287/54C,189.3R ;52/571,572,281,282 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,082,340 |
|
Sep 1967 |
|
GB |
|
1,175,001 |
|
Mar 1959 |
|
FR |
|
1,282,698 |
|
Dec 1961 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Gilliam; Paul R.
Claims
Having described my invention, I claim:
1. Modular furniture comprising a pair of uprights in the form of
channel members opening toward each other, a horizontal rail
extending between said uprights, each said channel member having
upright flanges that engage on opposite sides of one end of said
rail, said flanges having projections thereon that extend inwardly
toward each other, said ends of said rail having teeth thereon that
extend outwardly away from each other, said uprights and said rail
having recesses on the inner sides of said projections and said
teeth respectively, said projections and said teeth having beveled
surfaces that interengage when said ends of said rail are inserted
into said channel members whereby said furniture resiliently
deforms as said beveled surfaces slide over each other until said
projections enter said rail recesses and said teeth enter said
channel member recesses with a resilient snap action, said uprights
having upright ribs thereon that are disposed on the inner side of
said recesses and that extend toward each other, and an upright
panel having upright edges disposed between said ribs.
2. Modular funiture as claimed in claim 1, and means for
resleasably supporting shelving on said uprights.
3. Modular furniture as claimed in claim 2, said uprights being in
the form of channel members having slots through the legs of the
channels, said shelving support means comprising hangers releasably
retained in said slots.
4. Modular furniture as claimed in claim 3, said hangers having
upper ends that extend within the channels of said uprights, said
panel holding said upper ends against dislodgement.
5. Modular furniture as claimed in claim 1, and a horizontal member
at one of the vertical extremities of the furniture and means
releasably interconnecting said horizontal member with a said
upright, said releasable interconnecting means comprising a member
recessed to receive a portion of a said upright and a portion
releasably engageable with said horizontal member.
Description
The present invention relates to modular furniture, more
particularly of the type for homes and offices in which a wide
variety of articles of furniture can be assembled from a relatively
small number of modular units.
It is an object of the present invention to provide modular
furniture whose parts are standardized for the construction of the
widest variety of furniture from the least number of pieces.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of modular
furniture which can be quickly and easily assembled without resort
to special tools for the assembly or disassembly thereof.
Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide
modular furniture whose components are relatively simple and
inexpensive to manufacture, and rugged and durable in use.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from a consideration of the following
description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective exploded assembly view of the
mating ends of an upright and a horizontal rail according to the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded assembly view of a horizontal
member and a member for connecting it to an upright as in FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an upright and the connector member shown
at the bottom of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an end view of the horizontal member shown in FIG. 2, in
combination with the clip that holds it in assembly with the
connector member shown at the bottom of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of an upright as at the left
of FIG. 1, supporting shelving on opposite sides thereof and in
combination with a central sliding vertical panel;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of an upright as at the left of FIG. 1, in
combination with means for interconnecting it with an upright
panel;
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view looking edgewise at shelving
supported according to the present invention in combination with
vertically superposed sliding panels, portions of the shelving and
panels being broken away;
FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the horizontal
member interconnected with horizontal shelving and a vertical
panel;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of an upright as at the left of FIG. 1, in
combination with an upright panel and a horizontal rail as at the
right of FIG. 1, and also in combination with a horizontal member
as at the top of FIG. 2, in a furniture assembly used close to a
wall;
FIG. 10 is an edgewise side elevational view of a panel which would
be used with the assembly of FIG. 9 if that assembly were spaced
from a wall so that the side of the assembly of FIG. 9 which in
FIG. 9 faces the wall were instead exposed;
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of a covered assembly including
an upright sliding panel;
FIG. 12 is a side elevational view showing two vertically
superposed sliding panels edgewise;
FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the assembly in use
for supporting sliding drawers;
FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of a plastic plug which forms a
runner for the sliding doors of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a plan view of the plug of FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of a portion of a sliding panel
according to the present invention, showing the fingerpiece
recess;
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line A--A of FIG.
16;
FIG. 18 is a side cross-sectional view showing the interior of the
horizontal member at the top of FIG. 2, with the locking means for
permitting or preventing sliding of the panels on that horizontal
member;
FIG. 19 is a view of a portion of the locking mechanism shown in
FIG. 18; and
FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a sliding panel showing the
spring-urged pin that coacts with the locking mechanism of FIGS. 18
and 19 .
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, and first to FIG.
1, there is shown a horizontal cross member or rail 1 having its
ends beveled for insertion into the interior of a channel section
upright 2 comprising a leg of the furniture, upon assembly of the
parts in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1. To this end,
rail 1 has laterally outwardly projecting teeth 1a on opposite
sides thereof that engage with a resilient snap action in
corresponding opposed vertical recesses 2a in upright 2, the
upright 2 having limited resiliency for this purpose, as in the
case of a metal extrusion such as aluminum. Corresponding inwardly
extending projections 2b on upright 2 at the same time snap into
vertical recesses 1b on rail 1.
Rail 1 is also provided with horizontally extending integral
flanges 1c and 1d below wings 1e, the flange 1c terminating in a
vertical lip at right angles thereto, which extend outwardly from
opposite sides of rail 1 and which define between them recesses for
the reception of edges of panels forming portions of the furniture.
Four vertical ribs 1f depend from the lower edge of rail 1 and form
three longitudinally extending recesses in the central one of which
the edge of a such panel is received. Finally, rails 1 have end
notches 1g therein, for the reception of T-shaped strips 5 in a
manner which will be described hereinafter.
The channel section comprising upright 2 has on its inner surface
opposed ribs 2c extending toward each other in the same plane and
spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the central
pair of ribs 1f and the same distance as between the wings 1e.
Upright 2 also has constructions at 2d which form the bottoms of
oppositely laterally outwardly opening channels 2e of T-shaped
cross section. The legs of the channel section comprising upright 2
are also provided with opposed pairs of recesses 2f therein, for
purposes which will become apparent in connection with FIGS. 5 and
13.
In FIG. 2 is shown a fragment of a horizontal rail or member 3
positionable at the base or top of the furniture, which forms with
the rails 1 and uprights 2 the principal framework of the
furniture. A T-shaped member 5 is also shown in FIG. 2, whose
manner of assembly will be described in greater detail
hereinafter.
FIG. 3 shows in greater detail the manner in which a member 5
coacts with an upright 2 to interconnect the upright 2 with the
member 5.
FIG. 4 is an elevational view taken endwise of a member 3 at the
base of furniture according to the present invention. As is there
seen, the member 3 has on its upper surface three longitudinal
parallel ribs 3a and 3b, the ribs 3a being of right angle cross
section extending toward each other and the ribs 3b being T-shaped.
These ribs define between them channels 3c whose bottoms are convex
so as easily to support sliding door panels (not shown).
On its underside, the member 3 has ribs 3d and 3e, defining between
them channels 3f, to receive and guide the upper edges of subjacent
sliding door panels (not shown). Alternatively, when member 3 is
used as a base member, the unit can simply rest on the ribs 3d and
3e on the floor.
One lateral side 3g of member 3 is smooth and may face to the front
or outer side of the furniture, while the opposite side of member
3g has, reading from top to bottom in FIG. 4, a longitudinally
extending rib 3h that extends downwardly, a laterally outwardly
projecting longitudinal rib 3i which defines with rib 3h a
horizontal recess 3j whose purpose will be seen from FIG. 8; a rib
3k that terminates in a downwardly extending lip, which with a rib
3l forms a channel 3m whose purpose will be explained hereinafter;
a rib 3n which with rib 3l forms a channel 3p of lesser depth than
channel 3m; and a rib 3r terminating in an upwardly extending lip
which with rib 3n forms a channel 3s. On its interior, member 3 has
four ribs 3t arranged as shown in FIG. 4, for a purpose to be
described in connection with FIG. 18.
Member 3 can also form the upper edge of a piece of furniture, in
which case the ribs 3a and 3b can be omitted and the upper surface
of member 3 can be flat.
As best seen in FIG. 2, the ribs 3l and 3n are notched at 4 for
coaction with the member 5, which in turn has (FIG. 2) a web 5a and
notches and projections 5b and 5c in the web, for the reception of
corresponding portions of upright 2 (see FIG. 3). Web 5a in turn
has recesses and projections 5d thereon for coaction with notches
4. The members 5 slide in the channel 3p until the formations 5d
snap into the notches 4, which locates the member 5 longitudinally
relative to the member 3. The members 5 are prevented from pulling
out of the channel 3p by means of resilient clips 6, whose legs
have oppositely outwardly extending projections 6a thereon that
snap under the flanges of ribs 3k and 3r, as seen in FIG. 4, the
clips 6 receiving the members 5 within their confines and being of
a depth transversely of members 3 sufficient to prevent movement of
the members 5 outwardly from the channel 3p.
To assemble a furniture frame or system of paneling or wardrobe or
the like from the modular units thus far described, rails 1 may be
snapped into uprights 2 in the manner described above, in
vertically spaced relationship to each other, with a number of such
subassemblies of rails 1 and uprights 2 at opposite ends of the
rails 1 interconnected by means of members 3 to which are secured
the members by means of clips 6, the members 5 in turn being
interconnected to the uprights 2 as seen in FIG. 3.
Turning now to FIG. 5, there is shown the assembly of upright
panels 8 and horizontal shelves 9 to the uprights 2, by means of
hangers 7. Each hanger 7 has a horizontal upper end 7a, connected
to a vertical portion 7b, connected to a horizontal portion 7c in
stepwise fashion, connected to a further vertical portion 7d which
in turn is connected to a horizontal portion 7e that terminates in
an upwardly directed portion 7f having an outwardly inclined lip
7g.
To assemble the structure of FIG. 5, the portions 7a and 7b are
inserted in the recesses 2f until the portion 7b rests against the
inner side of upright 2 and more particularly against the recess
2a; the horizontal 7c rests on the base of recess 2f; while the
vertical portion of 7d rests on the outer side of upright 2. The
horizontal portions 7a extend toward each other but are spaced
apart a distance equal to the distance between ribs 2c, which is
also about the thickness of the panel 8, so that the insertion of
the panel 8 prevents inadvertent dislocation of the members 7 from
the FIG. 5 position. Then the shelves 9 are seated on members 7 in
the FIG. 5 position, with the vertical portions 7f and lips 7g
received in recesses 9a on the other side of shelves 9.
FIG. 6 shows a top plan view of a connection between an upright 2
and vertical panel 12, for which purpose there is provided an
upright 10 of generally E-shaped cross section having a rib 10a
perpendicular to its web and terminating in a lip 10b at right
angles to rib 10a, a further rib 10c of right angular cross section
and carrying a lip 10d thereon of triangular cross section, then
finally a rib 10e of a height approximately twice that of ribs 10a
and 10c. At the edge opposite rib 10e, upright 10 carries a further
rib 10f that has an obliquely inclined portion 10gterminating in a
loop 10h. Upright 10 is releasably interconnected with upright 2 by
inserting the portions 10f, 10g and 10h in the channel 2e in the
manner shown in FIG. 6.
The panel 12 is then received by ribs 10c and 10e in the manner
shown in FIG. 6, after which a removable upright batten strip of
generally C-shaped cross section is snapped into position with its
C-shaped flanged edge recess 11a rotatably receiving the lip 10b
and its triangular cross section flange 11b snapping over the lip
10d, the latter edge of strip 11a extending out beyond rib 10c and
retaining the edge of panel 12 between strip 11 and flange 10e.
FIG. 7 shows a side view of a connection between vertically
superposed upright panels 12 and the horizontal shelf 9, in the
form of a horizontally extending profile member 13 having spaced
parallel upright flanges 13a and 13b, the latter having terminating
upwardly in a horizontal flange 13c and downwardly in a horizontal
flange 13d that terminates in an upright lip 13e that releasably
fits in the downwardly opening recess 9a of shelf 9. The web 13f of
member 13 interconnects the flanges 13a and 13b and supports the
upper of the panels 12.
FIG. 8 is somewhat similar to FIG. 7, but shows the coupling of a
member 3 to a shelf 9 and an upright panel 12. The connection
between the shelf 9 and the panel 12 is as seen in FIG. 7. The
connection of the shelf 9 to the member 3, however, is by means of
a member 14 having an upright portion 14a connected to a horizontal
portion 14b connected stepwise to a further upright portion 14c,
connected to a horizontal portion 14d and terminating in further
upright portion 14e with a lip 14f thereon. Portions 14a and 14b
are received in the channel 3j also shown in FIG. 4, with the
portion 14a against the base of that channel and the portion 14b
resting on the rib 3i thereby releasably to retain the member 14 in
the channel 3j with an outwardly extending horizontal lip along the
upper edge of portion 14a retained behind the lip 3h as seen in
FIG. 8. The shelf 9 rests on the horizontal portion 14d with the
upright portion 14e and its lip 14f received in a downwardly
opening recess in shelf 9.
FIG. 9 shows a top cross-sectional view of the arrangement of
furniture according to the present invention so closely adjacent
the wall 16 that the adjacent side of the furniture is not visible
from the front. For this purpose, a profile 15 of substantially
J-shaped cross section has a vertical leg of sufficient length to
overlie both the upright 2 and the end of the member 3 and thus to
close the ends of the channels 3c and the member 2 to retain
therein the horizontal sliding door supported by these channels.
Profile 15 has a rib 15a at one end that bears against one of the
legs of the channel comprising upright 2, and a generally T-shaped
rib 15b that fits in the T-shaped recess 2e of upright 2. A flange
15c perpendicular to the web of profile 15 extends in the direction
parallel to but away from the member 3 and terminates in the flange
15e having an inturned lip 15f along its edge. A right angular rib
15d is provided along the inner side of flange 15c. A rubber
sealing strip 17 is clamped between the lip 15f and a spring member
18 having a rib 18b that bears resiliently against the side of the
web of profile 15, and a lip 18a that is removably received within
the rib 15d. The coaction of lip 18a and rib 18b resiliently urges
spring member 18 into clamping engagement against strip 17, the
strip 17 in turn bearing at its free edge against the wall 16 to
close the joint between the furniture and the wall.
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary edgewise elevational view of structure for
finishing the sides of the piece of furniture when the sides are
visible, in contrast to the situation of FIG. 9 in which the sides
are invisible. FIG. 10 should thus be considered in connection with
FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, is shown a horizontal molding 19 which bears an
inverted V-shaped channel member 20 that rides in a correspondingly
shaped horizontal recess 21a along the upper edge of a side panel
21 for purposes of inserting and removing the molding 19. At its
ends, panel 21 bears upright grooves 21b which receive the ribs 15d
of the profiles 15 when the edges of panel 21 are inserted in
profiles 15 in lieu of the strip 17 and the member 18.
FIG. 11 shows a side cross-sectional view of a connection between a
panel 12 and a shelf or cover 23, wherein a profile 22 is provided
that has appropriate webs and flanges and lips to receive a side
edge of the shelf or cover 23, an upper edge of the panel 12, and
fit into a downwardly opening recess 23a in the shelf or cover 23.
The recess 23acan be a groove so that the shelf or cover 23 is
assembled by sliding its associated end parallel to and into the
profile 22. At its other side, which is the right end of FIG. 11,
the shelf or cover 23 has a downwardly opening recess 23b by which
the shelf or cover 23 may be assembled to a member 3 in the manner
shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a connection between two panels 24,
by means of a profile 25 of generally I-shaped cross section.
FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing how drawers 27 may
be slidably suspended from hangers 26 that ride in endwise
outwardly opening recesses 27a in the drawers 27.
FIGS. 14 and 15 are respectively side and plan views of
anti-friction members to be embedded in slots formed in the edges
of doors of modular furniture according to the present invention,
for anti-friction purposes. To this end, the members 28 are of
solid nylon or other low friction plastic material, having teeth
28a to resist displacement from the slot or groove in the lower
edge of the door, and having an enlarged plate 28b integral
therewith which projects beyond the profile of the door and on
which the door slidably rides.
FIGS. 16 and 17 are respectively front elevational and
cross-sectional (on the line A--A of FIG. 16) views of a door 30
for modular furniture according to the present invention, in which
a fingerpiece 29 in the form of a cup is provided with a peripheral
flange 29a and side and bottom walls 29b, the cup fitting in a
corresponding cylindrical recess in the door to provide a good grip
for horizontal sliding of the door in its own plane.
FIG. 18 is a view in longitudinal section of the member 3, showing
on a portion of the inside thereof the mechanism for locking and
releasing sliding panels that ride in the channels 3c and 3f of
member 3.
As best seen in FIG. 18, the member 3 carries on its underside a
lock 31 for receiving a key which upon rotation reciprocates in a
horizontal direction a bolt 32 to which are pivotally connected the
ends of bars 33 that terminate in hooks 33a that extend toward each
other. Each hook 33a penetrates a hole 34a in a rectangular plate
34 (see FIG. 19) from which two spring fingers 35 have been stamped
and bent up. The spring fingers 35 carry protuberances 35a thereon
of a size and shape to enter and fill openings (not shown) that
extend through the bottoms of the recesses 3c and 3f.
The sliding panels 37 (see FIG. 20) are recessed to receive
housings 36 which are open at both ends and have a plate 38 in the
bottom thereof against which a coil-compression spring 39 bears,
the other end of the spring 39 bearing against the enlarged head
40a of a pin 40, the housings 36 having a turned edge at its outer
end which engages head 40a to prevent pin 40 from being pushed out
of the recess by spring 39.
As panel 37 slides horizontally with its opposite edges disposed in
channels 3c and 3f of member 3, the pin 40 will be forced into the
housings 36 by the bottom of the channels. When the pin 40 engages
one of the aforementioned openings in the bottom of the channels 3c
or 3f, then the pin 40 tends to pop into that opening and lock the
sliding door against furthe movement. As the interior of the
members 3 is inaccessible, there is no way to retract the pin 40
from the aforementioned opening in the channel bottom, so that the
panel 37 is locked in that horizontally adjusted position, which
will ordinarily be a closed position.
However, when lock 31 is actuated to shift the plates 34 laterally
in sliding relation on ribs 3t, then the protuberance 35a will
slide along the surface of the bottom of channel 3c or 3f which is
internal to member 3, until it reaches the same opening in the
channel bottom, whereupon the protuberance 31a will pop into that
opening under the spring force of the spring finger 35, which
spring force is greater than the force of spring 39. If a pin 40 is
in that opening, the pin 40 will be forced out and the opening will
be occupied by protuberance 35a, so that the panel 37 can slide
freely without locking. Therefore, the locking operation of the
panel, in what will ordinarily be the closed position of the panel,
will take place when the lock 31 is in such a position that
protuberance 34a does not occupy the above-described opening. The
panel 37 will slide until it locks, for example closed, by entry of
the pin 40 into the opening in question.
To unlock the panel, the lock 31 is actuated until the protuberance
35a pops the pin 40 out of its locking position, after which the
panel 37 can be freely slid horizontally.
It will thus be recognized that the present invention is adapted to
the formation of a wide variety of pieces of furniture, such as
wardrobes, filing cabinets, clothes lockers, shelving, storage
space and many other applications, and wide variety of furniture
being assembled from a relatively small number of modular
units.
From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it
will be evident that the initially recited objects of the present
invention have been achieved.
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated
in connection with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood
that modifications and variations may be resorted to without
departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in
this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations
are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present
invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *