U.S. patent number 3,592,344 [Application Number 04/787,186] was granted by the patent office on 1971-07-13 for collapsible sectional bookcase unit.
This patent grant is currently assigned to National Blank Book Company, Inc.. Invention is credited to Frank Stanley Schade.
United States Patent |
3,592,344 |
Schade |
July 13, 1971 |
COLLAPSIBLE SECTIONAL BOOKCASE UNIT
Abstract
A collapsible folding bookcase construction for separate desk or
tabletop use and as a sectional unit to be releasably assembled
with like units, a foldable unit having hinged back, side, and
bottom panels and an assembly or connector flap, the side panels
having recessed fastener means for joining like units side-by-side
and the panels and flap being foldable into overlying relation
against each other for flat compact storage or shipping
purposes.
Inventors: |
Schade; Frank Stanley (Holyoke,
MA) |
Assignee: |
National Blank Book Company,
Inc. (Holyoke, MA)
|
Family
ID: |
25140669 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/787,186 |
Filed: |
December 26, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/42; D6/683.1;
211/132.1; 211/50; 206/557; 220/23.4; 229/120.01; 229/164; 229/183;
229/198.3; 312/108; 312/111; 312/259 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
47/00 (20130101); B42F 7/145 (20130101); A47B
65/00 (20130101); A47B 43/02 (20130101); A47B
2220/0083 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
65/00 (20060101); A47b 063/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/41,50,40,132,178,42,149,11,126 ;312/111,20,10,108,259,107
;206/62P,62R ;220/23.4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
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|
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266,154 |
|
May 1962 |
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AU |
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354,419 |
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Jul 1961 |
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CH |
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Primary Examiner: Frazier; Roy D.
Assistant Examiner: Frankel; Abraham
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A collapsible sectional bookcase unit for desk top use and the
like comprising
a back panel and hingedly connected at each side thereof a side
panel,
a bottom panel hingedly connected to the base of one of said side
panels,
and a connector flap hingedly connected to the base of the other
side panel,
the hingedly connected panels and flap being foldable into
overlying relation against adjacent panels for a flat collapsed
condition,
said bottom panel and connector flap having registrable releasably
engageable fastener elements for erection of said unit with said
bottom panel being held at right angles to and extending from the
base of said back panel and said side panels being thereby arranged
in spaced parallel position to support books and the like
therebetween,
said side panels further having releasable fastener elements at
corresponding positional locations thereon and facing outwardly
thereof with the elements of one side panel being of a type for
releasable engagement with the elements facing outwardly of the
other panel to thereby optionally secure a plurality of like units
in side by side relation, and
said panels at each of said corresponding positional locations of
the fastener elements having sections of reduced wall thickness
recessed inwardly of both panel wall surfaces, said fastener
elements being mounted in said sections with the inner portions of
the fastener elements being recessed within the panel walls and the
outwardly facing portions thereof being in part recessed within
said panel walls.
2. A collapsible sectional bookcase unit for desk top use and the
like comprising
a back panel and hingedly connected at each side thereof a side
panel,
a bottom panel hingedly connected to the base of one of said side
panels,
and a connector flap hingedly connected to the base of the other
side panel,
all said panels comprising flat stiffener members with covering
sheets of thermoplastic material enclosing said members,
the hingedly connected panels and flap being foldable into
overlying relation against adjacent panels for a flat collapsed
condition,
said bottom panel and connector flap having registrable releasably
engageable fastener elements for erection of said unit with said
bottom panel being held at right angles to and extending from the
base of said back panel and said side panels being thereby arranged
in spaced parallel position to support books and the like
therebetween,
said side panels further having releasable fastener elements at
corresponding positional locations thereon and facing outwardly
thereof with the elements of one side panel being of a type for
releasable engagement with the elements facing outwardly of the
other panel to thereby optionally secure a plurality of like units
in side by side relation,
said stiffener members at said corresponding positional locations
of the fastener elements having apertured portions, and
said fastener elements being mounted in said apertures on sections
of the covering sheets from opposite sides of said members for at
least in part recessing said fastener elements.
3. The unit as set forth in claim 2, in which
said covering sheets at opposite sides of the panels are
heat-sealed together in the areas between adjacent panels and form
the hinge connections for folding said panels together,
said connector flap is formed by extensions of said covering sheet
material and is connected to the base of said other side panel
along a similarly sealed hinging area, and
said sheets are heat-sealed around the peripheral edges of the unit
and the sections of the sheets in said apertures of the stiffener
members are heat-sealed together for mounting said fastener
elements.
Description
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to a collapsible and foldable bookcase
construction and particularly to a unit of the type which may be
erected for use by itself or joined at the option of the user in
side by side relation to form a sectional bookcase assembly by
releasable snap fastener elements built unobtrusively into each of
the sidewalls thereof. Each unit is collapsible into flat compact
form with the panels folded against each other for packaging,
storage, or shipping purposes.
Insofar as is known prior units of this type have been relatively
cumbersome in the nature either from the standpoint of constructing
the same, of erecting and assembling units and requiring additional
parts to join them together, or of collapsing the walls into
compact form.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an
attractive self-contained separate bookcase unit available, if
desired, for joining with one or more like units to form a
sectional bookcase assembly for desk top or other like uses; to
provide a collapsible unit which may be readily folded into flat
compact form for carrying, storage or shipping with a minimum of
waste space; and to provide a self-contained unit which with other
like units can without more be erected and joined together without
the use of tools or additional parts to hold the assembly
secure.
The construction of the preferred form of unit as shown by an
actual embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein utilizes a
known type of panel construction which is used in some cases for
bound book covers and more commonly for the hinged cover and back
panel construction of conventional loose leaf ring binders. This
type of structure is characterized by the enclosure of relatively
stiff panel supporting members between covering sheets of
heat-sealable thermoplastic material, the facing peripheral edges
of the sheets and hinging areas between panels being sealed
together by standard plastic welding procedures and tools. Highly
attractive panel structures can thus be easily formed since
thermoplastic sheet materials are now available in a wide variety
of decorative colorings and designs.
In forming the hinged back, side, and bottom panels and the
connector flap of the present structure the above method of panel
formation is used together with the additional provision for
incorporating releasable snap fastener elements in the side panels
and in the bottom panel and connector flap. The fasteners in the
latter two locations are for erecting a unit; the fasteners in the
side panels are for releasably joining separate units together.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be
apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment
thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of two sectional bookcase units
embodying the invention and in assembled condition, the units being
releasably fastened in side by side relation;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of one of the units of FIG. 1, the panel
sections thereof being spread out in flat planar relation;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the unit of FIG. 2 with the panels folded
in collapsed condition for compact storage or shipping
purposes;
FIG. 4 is a bottom edge view of the folded unit as shown by FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on line 5-5 of
FIG. 1; and
FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on line 6-6 of FIG. 2.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 the sectional bookcase unit disclosed
comprises a back panel 2, side panels 4 and 6 connected,
respectively, by hinging portions 8 and 10 at each side of the back
panel, a bottom panel 12 connected to the lower edge of panel 4 by
a hinging section 14 and a connector or assembly flap 16 hinged
along the lower edge of panel 6 by portion 18.
As shown by FIG. 1, the unit is erected and assembled as from the
flat FIG. 2 condition by swinging the side panels forwardly into
parallel relation and at right angles to the back panel while
bringing the bottom panel 12 upwardly for the free edge thereof to
lie along the lower edge of side panel 6. The flap 16 is then
releasably fastened at the underside of the bottom panel by
registration and engagement of spaced snap fastener button elements
at 20 and 22 carried on the flap and bottom panel respectively. The
fastener elements may be of any conventional form and are
preferably of the type shown in detail by FIG. 5 as will be
described.
In FIG. 5 the snap fastener connection there shown serves to
releasably join together (FIG. 1) the upper rear corner sections of
the side panels 4 and 6 of a pair of similarly constructed
sectional units. This fastener connection is generally designated
by the numeral 24. A similar connection at the lower front corner
section of the same side panels is designated at 26. As will be
evident from FIGS. 1 and 2 the separate elements on each side panel
4 and 6 are at corresponding positional locations so that when any
two units are joined in side by side relation the walls 4 and 6
will become a common wall of a sectional assembly as in FIG. 1. As
many units as necessary or desirable may be added to suit a user.
It will be appreciated that the particular location and number of
the fastener elements may be varied to best accommodate any given
size or form of sidewall. It has been found that with the
diagonally directed front edge conformation of walls 4 and 6 as
herein shown, the two fastener locations at 24 and 26 serve to hold
assembled units securely together. The actual embodiment shown was
designed to hold not only ordinary size books but also loose leaf
binders of the type and size commonly sold for school and classroom
use.
As in FIG. 5 the wall 4 is fitted with a headed stud or post
fastener element 28 while the wall 6 is fitted with the recessed
cap element 30 for releasably receiving the head and holding the
walls face to face. The same type of fastener elements are
preferably used at 20 and 22 for the flap and bottom panel
connection.
FIG. 5 is also illustrative of the preferred form of construction
for the panel walls. Stiffener members as the boards 32 and 34 of
the panels 4 and 6 are shown encased between the covering sheets 36
and 38 of thermoplastic sheet material. The boards 32 and 34 may be
of stiff composition paperboard or of a stiff thickened plastic
sheet material as may be desired to give a desired rigidity to the
several walls. As indicated at the top of panel 4 the outer
peripheral edges of the covering sheets on opposite faces of a
panel are suitably heat-sealed together as indicated by the welded
area at 40.
Referring to FIG. 2 the hinge areas 8, 10, 14 and 18 are likewise
formed by similarly welding the inner faces of the cover plies (see
FIG. 6), the width of the hinging areas, however, being of greater
magnitude to enable the folding of the panels as will be described.
It may be noted from FIG. 6 that the hinged connector flap is not
provided with a stiffener member since this flap (FIG. 1) underlies
the bottom panel 12 in erected condition. The plies of the
thermoplastic covering sheets are sealed in the hinge area 18 and
extended to form the flap on which the elements 20 are mounted.
These plies are of a relatively thin character and do not serve to
tip an erected sectional unit on a platform surface to any
observable degree.
Referring again to FIG. 5 it will further be noted that the panel
stiffener members 32 and 34 are provided with apertured sections in
the openings 42 and 44 of which the interfaces of the covering
sheets are welded together. The openings are circular (FIGS. 1 and
2) and the sealed areas are circular in outline. At the center of
these sealed areas suitable openings are cut for mounting the
fastener elements 28 and 30 by the conventional gripping or
riveting flanges as at 46 and 48 respectively. Thus the fastener
elements are at least in part recessed in the panel walls and the
holes in the sealed areas of the plies in the openings 42 and 44 do
not allow leakage of air into the pockets containing the stiffener
members as at 32 and 34 of the panels. The stiffeners being
completely sealed from atmosphere will thus preserve a smooth flat
hugging relationship of the covering sheets against the panel
surfaces. The passage of air into the pockets will otherwise cause
the covering sheets in time to become wavy or slightly rumpled when
lying against a relatively large surface and thus detract from the
initial smooth flat stretched appearance which is desired over the
useful life of the unit. With a surface of no appreciable width as
in the case of flap 16 a smooth stretched appearance is of no real
consequence, and since no stiffener member is provided the fastener
element need not be sealed off.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 the folded packaging condition is
shown. For a most compact collapsed relation the bottom panel 12
(with reference to FIG. 1) is folded upwardly against the inner
face of panel 4, the flap 16 tucked upwardly against panel 6, and
the panel 6 and flap then folded as to the left over the back
panel, the outer portion of panel 6 thus overlying panels 12 and 4.
A thin flat planar type of package thus results for ease in
handling and occupying a minimum of space. The extremely thin
character of the folded panels will be obvious from the FIG. 4
relation of the parts.
* * * * *