U.S. patent number 3,669,494 [Application Number 05/026,975] was granted by the patent office on 1972-06-13 for modular furniture pieces.
Invention is credited to Hartmut H. Lohmeyer.
United States Patent |
3,669,494 |
Lohmeyer |
June 13, 1972 |
MODULAR FURNITURE PIECES
Abstract
A unit for constructing modularized body supporting furniture
pieces comprising a box having an outwardly upturned trough around
the bottom portion and an upholstered cap covering the upper
portion thereof. The upholstered cap can be of such configuration
as to provide a seating surface on the top, or it can be such that
it provides a body supporting surface, such as a backrest, on the
side thereof. The trough includes means for aligning adjacent units
in the course of constructing a furniture piece with a plurality of
units. U-shaped clips are used to attach adjacent units together.
By combining seat units and support units, various pieces of
furniture can be constructed.
Inventors: |
Lohmeyer; Hartmut H. (8 Munich,
13, DT) |
Family
ID: |
5730963 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/026,975 |
Filed: |
April 9, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Apr 11, 1969 [DT] |
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P 19 18 540.1 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
297/440.14;
297/248; 297/462 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
13/005 (20130101); A47C 5/12 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
5/00 (20060101); A47C 5/12 (20060101); A47C
13/00 (20060101); A47c 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/219,440,441,443,461,248,462 ;46/25,26 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; James C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A unit for constructing modularized furniture pieces
comprising:
a generally quadratic box having an outwardly upturned trough about
the lower portion thereof said trough including means for engaging
others of said units to construct modularized furniture pieces,
and
an upholstered cap covering said box.
2. The unit set forth in claim 1 wherein said upholstered cap
includes a seating surface on the upper portion thereof.
3. The unit set forth in claim 1 wherein said upholstered cap
includes a body support surface on at least one of the sides
thereof.
4. The unit set forth in claim 3 wherein said body support surface
is inclined.
5. The unit set forth in claim 1 wherein said upholstered cap
extends downwardly into said trough.
6. The unit set forth in claim 5 further comprising a removable
cover over said upholstered cap, said cover extending into said
trough and being secured therein by interaction of said trough and
said upholstered cap.
7. The unit set forth in claim 5 further comprising a cover over
said upholstered cap, said cover extending into said trough and
including rod means attached to said cover in said trough, said
cover being secured in said trough by interaction of said trough,
said upholstered cap, and said rod means.
8. A unit for constructing modularized furniture components
comprising:
a generally quadratic box having an outwardly upturned trough about
the lower portion thereof, said trough comprising four upturned
sides, and
means for engaging others of said units to construct modularized
furniture pieces, said engaging means comprising a protrusion and a
recess on each of said sides, whereby said protrusion of one of
said units engages said recess of another said unit.
9. A piece of body supporting furniture comprising a plurality of
modular units adapted to be attached together in a predetermined
cons-truction, each of said units comprising a generally quadratic
box having an upholstered cap covering the upper portion thereof
and an outwardly upturned trough about the lower portion thereof,
said trough including means for engaging others of said units,
and
means for releasably attaching said units together.
10. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 9 including a first
group of said units wherein said upholstered cap is of such
suitable dimensions as to include a seating surface on the top
portion thereof and a second group of said units wherein said
upholstered cap is of such suitable dimensions as to include a body
support surface on at least one of the sides thereof.
11. A piece of body supporting furniture comprising a plurality of
modular units adapted to be attached together in a predetermined
construction, each of said units comprising a generally quadratic
box having an outwardly upturned trough about the lower portion
thereof, said trough including means for engaging others of said
units, and means for releasably attaching said units together
comprising a U-shaped clip engaging said troughs of adjacent of
said units.
12. A piece of body supporting furniture comprising a plurality of
modular units adapted to be attached together in a predetermined
construction, each of said units comprising a generally quadratic
box having an outwardly upturned trough about the lower portion
thereof, said troughs of all of said units having identical
dimensions, each of said troughs including means for engaging
others of said units, and
means for releasably attaching said units together.
13. A piece of body supporting furniture comprising a plurality of
individual floor-standing seat units for providing a seating
surface and individual floor-standing supports units of greater
height than said seat units for providing back rest or arm rest
surfaces, said seat units and said support units having an
identical quadratic ground plan, the depth of said seating surface
being formed by at least two of said seating units, and means for
attaching said units to one another to form said piece of
furniture.
14. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of
said seat units is in the form of a quadratic block.
15. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein said
ground plan of each of said units is in the form of a square.
16. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein said
attaching means is hidden from view within the confines of said
piece of furniture.
17. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of
said support units has a portion slanted inwardly and upwardly
beginning at the level of said seating surface.
18. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of
said units comprises a generally quadratic box having an outwardly
upturned trough about the lower portion thereof, said trough
including means for engaging others of said unit.
19. The unit as set forth in claim 18 wherein said trough comprises
four upturned sides, and wherein said engaging means comprises a
protrusion and a recess on each of said sides, whereby said
protrusion of one of said units engages said recess of another of
said units.
20. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 13 wherein each of
said seat units further comprises an upholstered cap to form said
seating surface and each of said support units further comprises an
upholstered cap to form the surface of said back rest or arm
rest.
21. A piece of furniture constructed exclusively of a plurality of
interchangeable individual floor-standing units of identical square
ground plan assembled adjacent one another, some of said units
being seat units having a unit seating surface on the top and
collectively forming a furniture seating surface and the remainder
of said units being body support units having on the upper portion
a unit body supporting surface of greater height than said
furniture seating surface and collectively forming a furniture body
supporting surface, the depth of said furniture seating surface
being formed of at least two of said seat units, and means for
releasably attaching said units to one another.
22. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 21 wherein each of
said seat units is in the form of a quadratic block for its entire
height.
23. A piece of furniture as set forth in claim 22 wherein each of
said body support units has a portion slanted inwardly and upwardly
above the level of said furniture seating surface.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve variety of seating and reclining furniture to
different requirements and occasions, such furniture can be
modularly constructed of individual units. These systems have in
the past consisted of seating units with customary dimensions which
can be put together and which can be provided, as desired, with
back- or armrests which are separately attached. However, these
systems have only limited transformability, as on one hand only
relatively few variations can be executed therewith, with rigid
dimensions such as multiples of the width of the seat, while on the
other hand a relatively large amount of individual parts are
required therefor, in particular for corner construction.
Furthermore, the individual parts are mostly developed in such a
way that they cannot be combined arbitrarily in another manner, as
then the end portions or connection elements become visible.
Benches which are composed of disk-shaped units are known, whereby
the result is that benches of different lengths can be constructed
through the assembling of a larger or smaller number of such disks.
These disks thereby span in one piece the entire cross section of
the bench. Corners or other variations can only be realized through
additional specially constructed units, which are of no other
possible use at all.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention provides a seating or reclining furniture
piece composed of individual units, which possesses an especially
great scope of variation possibilities, but nevertheless uses only
few different units. Seating units and supporting units, for
example back- or siderests, are provided in which each unit stands
on the floor and extends to the height of the seat, or the height
of the support in question, and possesses the same quadratic
cross-section plan, whereby two or three units can be attached by a
coupling element that fits into the unit in such a manner as to be
substantially hidden from view.
The units according to the invention possesses a ground plan which
is equal for all units, offering an extensive standardization for
the fabrication of the individual units. By skillful combination of
seating units and support units, virtually any type of furniture
piece can be constructed. Aside from the fact that the optional
transformability from seating furniture into reclining furniture
and vice versa, as well as the optional enlargement and reduction
thereof are provided for, there is also the possibility to utilize
corners as well as modify corners. Furthermore, end pieces,
subdivisions and reciprocal transpositions can be realized at any
desired place.
In principle this great variation possibility results through the
use of only two different units, i.e., the seat unit and the
support unit. Suitably thereby the seat units are constructed
quadratically, for example the seat unit can be about 15 inches
high and about 7 inches or 10 inches wide, depending on whether two
or three seat units are arranged in the seating depth. Using such a
dimensioning of the seat units as the basis, there suitably results
a height for the support units of about 28 inches to 30 inches.
Through a slight variation in the form of the support units there
further result special adaptation possibilities to different
conditions. Thus the support units can be provided from the height
of the seat units upwardly with a constant narrowing in the cross
section, which, for example, manifests itself in a slanting of one
or two side portions, whereby an especially good adaptation to the
posture of the body is possible. Then one can also develop the
narrowing of the cross section as the slant of a diagonally
proceeding vertical edge of the support units, making possible in
the case of support units slanted in the side areas an especially
favorable insertion into a corner. As is obvious, this shaping --
different from the support unit with continuously equal cross
section -- is hardly far-reaching, so that one can still speak
practically of an essentially uniform support unit. In any event
the change in shaping of the support units, however, extends to
only a very few cases, so that the manufacturer or retailer only
needs to stock a very limited amount from which any special
requirement, in particular ever spatial condition, can be
considered. The user has the advantage that he can modify by
himself pieces of furniture consisting of such units, without any
difficulties, whereby he is afforded the opportunity, for example
if he moves, to adapt to changed spatial conditions without any
problems.
The simplicity of shaping of the units opens the possibility to
manufacture them by correspondingly simple fabrication methods.
Suitably the units are developed of a hat shaped box with short,
upwardly-pulled brim and a foam-material top-piece pulled
thereover. The hat shaped box thereby forms a hollow core, to some
extent, which is covered with foam material in known manner.
Thereby the unit is set up in principle. Suitably a slight tapering
off upwardly is imparted to the box-shaped core, so that the
individual boxes can be piled up in a space-saving manner within
the framework of fabrication. For the purpose of secure fit into
the given screen, projections and recesses can be provided at the
brims, which fit into each other upon the coupling of two units, so
that the units automatically align themselves.
Such a unit provided with a top-piece of foam material can also
easily be covered. The covering is stretched over the foam material
top-piece in that in the area of the brims in each case a rod is
provided which is pressed behind the pulled-up brim under the foam
material top-piece which reaches thereto.
In the drawings working examples of the invention are shown as
follows:
FIG. 1 -- a box to be covered with foam as component of a unit,
FIG. 2 -- a stack of such boxes,
FIG. 3 -- a box covered with foam in section, which box forms a
seat unit,
FIG. 4a-e -- different shapings of units
FIG. 5 -- an easy chair
FIG. 6 -- a reclining chair
FIG. 7 -- a double bench
FIG. 8 -- an easy chair
FIG. 9 -- an easy chair of special construction
FIG. 10 -- a "sitting island"
FIG. 11 -- a corner bench
FIG. 12 -- a row of benches with opposite seating direction
FIG. 13 -- a clamp for the coupling of two units
FIG. 14 -- a cover for a unit.
FIG. 1 shows a hat-shaped box 1 which is provided with a short,
pulled-upward brim 2. This box is preferably sprayed of synthetic
material, it forms the hollow core for a unit according to the
invention. Below the brim four sliding feet 3 are provided. These
can be manufactured along with the box during the spraying process.
At the outer upwardly-pulled edge of the brim projections 4 and
recesses 5 are affixed, which serve to secure two units upon the
coupling thereof. I.e. if one puts two units 1 together next to one
another, projection 4 extends into a recess 5 of the other
unit.
The above-described design of boxes 1 permits to pile them up one
atop another, as is shown in FIG. 2. This space-saving piling up is
of special importance in the manufacture.
The finished unit results in that a box 1 is provided with a foam
material covering 6, as is shown in FIG. 3. Foam material cover 6
is pulled down into the area of the pulled-up brim 2, where it
holds rods 7, which are explained in more detail in connection with
FIG. 14. The unit shown in FIG. 3 securely stands on the floor and
is, above all, well upholstered on its upper surface due to the use
of the the foam material cover 6.
FIGS. 4a to e show different forms of units. FIG. 4a shows a seat
unit which corresponds to the representation according to FIG.
3.
If one extends the seat unit shown in FIG. 4 upwardly, at a
continuously equal-width cross section, a support unit according to
FIG. 4b results. As core this can use the same box as the seat unit
according to FIG. 4a. However it is also possible to use upwardly
extended boxes for the higher support units. If the rigidity of the
foam material is sufficient, it is possible to be able to use only
one box for all elements, the height being controlled by the
build-up of upholstery material.
The support unit shown in FIG. 4c possesses a narrowing of the
cross section constantly proceeding upwardly starting at the height
of the seat unit, in the form of a slant 8 of a side area. This
slanting makes possible the achievement of an adaptation to a
slanted body posture. This slant is used for the back area or a
side area.
In FIG. 4d a different slanting is shown. Here it proceeds as an
approximately diagonally-directed area 9, by which a vertical edge
of the unit is sloped. This unit is suited preferably for a corner
of a bench, which is provided with sloped support units according
to FIG. 4c. See also FIG. 8. The unit according to FIG. 4e is
provided as support unit for an outwardly directed corner. For this
purpose it possesses two slopes, as shown in FIG. 10.
The further drawings show seating and reclining furniture which is
composed of the above described units.
FIG. 5 shows an easy chair without side rests with two seat units
in the seating depth. The back rest of this easy chair is formed by
three support units provided with sloping areas, as shown in FIG.
4c.
FIG. 6 shows a reclining chair which principally has resulted from
the easy chair according to 5 in that the seating area thereof is
extended in the direction away from the back rest through
attachment of further seat units. In addition the reclining chair
shown in FIG. 6 possesses a series of seat units. The end portion
of this reclining chair is formed through four support elements
according to FIG. 4c.
FIG. 7 shows a double bench, which resulted through the joining of
two benches, back to back. Each of the benches corresponds to a
side-extension of the easy chair according to FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 shows an easy chair with arm rests, the back and sideparts
of which each consist of two support units according to FIG. 4c. At
the corners in each case a support unit according to FIG. 4c is
inserted, so that an easy chair results which is completely closed
on the sides and in the back.
If one omits the support units at the corners in the easy chair
according to FIG. 8, the easy chair according to FIG. 9 results,
which offers an especially interesting shaping.
FIG. 10 shows how, with the aid of the units of the invention, in
simple manner a seating island can also be constructed which in
principle corresponds to a corner bench constructed around a
pillar. In the center of this island four support units according
to FIG. 4e are arranged, so that a large bench results.
A further variation of a bench is shown in FIG. 11. Here the bench
is constructed into a corner, and again the support unit according
to FIG. 4d forms the corner unit. Otherwise this bench corresponds
to a great extent to the easy chair according to FIG. 5.
FIG. 12 clearly shows that especially interesting variations are
possible with the units according to the invention. Here a row,
composed of two benches, is constructed, whereby each bench
possesses opposite seating direction, but the separating wall is a
joint one.
As already mentioned in the beginning, the individual units are
coupled with each other so that in each case a rigid piece of
furniture results. FIG. 13 shows a working example for means for
such a coupling. It is a U-shaped bow which is pressed, its opening
directed upwardly, from below, over the lower edge of the boxes
within the units. Thereby the bow is located between sliding means
3. If, for example, a piece of seating furniture is to be
constructed, the bow is pushed under an already standing unit and
thereafter the unit to be joined is introduced into the opening of
the bow from above, whereby the alignment of the seat units towards
each other takes place through the fitting of the projections 4
into the recesses 5. Thereby each unit is connected with each
adjacent unit by such a bow.
The foam material upholstery of each unit can be provided with an
exchangeable covering, which is of special advantage in particular
for cleaning purposes. Such a covering is shown in FIG. 14. It
consists of a cap 10, which can consist, for example, of cloth
material synthetic material, leather or the like. It fits snugly
over the foam material top piece 6. Below the cap ends in the area
of the pulled-up brim 2 of each box 1 in a hollow seam 11 into
which a rod 7 is inserted. Such a covering is pulled over a foam
material top piece until rods 7 reach the hollow space behind the
pulled-up brims 2, where they are pressed behind the end of foam
material top piece 6. Thereby the covering stretches automatically.
It can easily be removed again from foam material top piece 6 by
pulling out of the rods behind the foam material top piece. In this
manner it is also possible, as required, to cover the elements
differently, and to also provide them, if desired, with a color
pattern.
This invention provides a novel modular unit for use in
manufacturing various pieces of furniture. The basic part of each
unit is a box having an outwardly upturned trough at the bottom
thereof. Using this box as the basis, an upholstered section
converts the box to a seating or a support unit. Since all the
troughs have identical dimensions, the units are completely
interchangeable. Many different types of upholstered caps can be
used, adding further to the versatility of the system. Upholstery
can be quickly and easily attached or removed, as can the clips
which attach adjacent units together. By the use of protuberances
and recesses built into the trough on all sides, adjacent units are
easily aligned. The boxes are advantageously designed in such a
manner as to enable them to be stacked when the upholstery is
removed, thus conserving storage space.
It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to
the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and
shown, but is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *