U.S. patent number 3,756,169 [Application Number 05/121,895] was granted by the patent office on 1973-09-04 for furniture construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Philip Specialty Company. Invention is credited to Philip M. Dybvig.
United States Patent |
3,756,169 |
Dybvig |
September 4, 1973 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
Tables and stools of inexpensive and simple yet rugged
construction are made from plate members spaced by a hollow post
and held in assembled relation by a single draw bolt. The plate
members of the disclosed stool are both disc-shaped and a seat back
is optionally secured to the upper plate member. The disclosed
lower plate member of the table is formed with four horizontally
projecting legs. Stiffening ribs and supplementary supports are
also provided when the table top is so large as to require
additional support. All of the parts of the tables and stools are
so designed that various heights and diameters of tables and stools
can easily be made.
Inventors: |
Dybvig; Philip M. (Dallas,
TX) |
Assignee: |
Philip Specialty Company (Grand
Prairie, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
22399412 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/121,895 |
Filed: |
March 8, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
108/150; 248/158;
108/158 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
5/00 (20130101); A47B 7/00 (20130101); A47B
2230/15 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
5/00 (20060101); A47B 7/00 (20060101); A47b
013/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;108/42,150,157-159
;248/158,188,188.7 ;297/461,462 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; James C.
Claims
Having thus described my invention, I claim:
1. Furniture construction comprising an upper plate member, a lower
plate member, a tubular post separating said plate members,
confronting faces of said plate members having annular grooves
therein, said tubular post comprising a hollow tube formed as a
right angled cylinder, the ends of which are received by said
annular grooves, and a draw bolt assembly extending along the
vertical centerline of the furniture construction through aligned
openings in said plate members and through said post, said draw
bolt assembly holding all parts of said furniture construction in
assembled relation and including a draw bolt having an enlarged
head located within a recess in one of said upper plate member and
said lower plate member and a nut threadedly engaging an end of
said draw bolt and received within a recess in the other of said
upper plate member and said lower plate member.
2. The construction of claim 1 wherein said upper plate member is
disc-shaped and is circular in a horizontal plane.
3. The construction of claim 2 wherein said lower plate member is
formed with a centrally located hub portion and has horizontal leg
members projecting from said hub portion.
4. The construction of claim 3 wherein the upper and lower surfaces
of both said upper plate member and said lower plate member are
substantially planar, said enlarged head having a top surface
substantially coplanar with said top surface of said upper plate
member, and said enlarged head substantially filling the recess
receiving it whereupon the combined top surfaces of said upper
plate member and said enlarged head are substantially planar and
continuous.
5. The construction of claim 2 wherein said lower plate member is
disc-shaped and is circular in a horizontal plane, said upper plate
member having a larger diameter than said lower plate member.
6. The construction of claim 1 wherein said upper plate member has
plural horizontally extending ribs on its lower surface and wherein
plural supplementary support rods extend between said ribs and said
lower plate member, the ends of said rods being received in sockets
formed in confronting faces of said ribs and said lower plate
member.
7. The construction of claim 6 wherein said supplementary support
rods are substantially equally mutually circumferentially spaced
and wherein each is located at substantially the same radial
distance from the vertical centerline of said tubular post.
8. In a furniture construction of the type having a base member, a
central support and a top member providing a top surface of
substantial horizontal extent mounted on said support, the
improvement wherein all parts of said furniture construction are
held in assembled relation by a single draw bolt assembly
projecting completely through aligned centrally located openings in
each of said base member, said central support and said top member,
said draw bolt assembly including a vertical draw bolt having an
enlarged head located within a recess in one of said top member and
said base member and a nut threadedly engaging an end of said draw
bolt and received within a recess in the other of said top member
and said base member.
9. The construction of claim 8 wherein said enlarged head is
recessed in the top surface of said top member and the top surface
of said head is substantially coplanar with the top surface of said
top member, and said enlarged head substantially fills the recess
receiving it whereupon the combined top surfaces of said top member
and said enlarged head are substantially planar and continuous.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to furniture constructions and more
particularly to table and stool constructions having appealing
designs and especially suited for rugged use by persons of all
ages. Other table and stool designs are known but none embody the
simplicity of construction and assembly of the present
invention.
In accordance with this invention, the furniture constructions
include upper and lower base plates spaced apart by a hollow
tubular post. These members are all held together by a single draw
bolt assembly extending through aligned openings in them. The draw
bolt assembly has an enlarged head received in a recess or
counterbore in the top surface of the upper plate and the final
assembly is made by fastening the draw bolt in a rigid position by
a holding device, such as a nut, received in a recess or
counterbore in the bottom surface of the lower plate.
The upper plates, whether for use as stools or tables, may simply
be disc-shaped plates and the lower plates may either be
disc-shaped or may be formed with horizontally extending legs. In
all cases the horizontal extent of the upper plate can easily be
varied or customized to suit the needs of the user simply by
changing its size. The desired height of the furniture is obtained
simply by cutting the posts and draw bolts to the desired
lengths.
The confronting faces of the upper and lower plates are provided
with annular grooves receiving the ends of the post, and the draw
bolt is located centrally of the post. Accordingly, when the draw
bolt assembly is tightened, the upper and lower plates are, in
effect, pulled together at the center of the post and the post, in
effect, tends to spread the upper and lower plates apart whereupon
an unusually stable and rigid construction is obtained as a result
of the opposing forces applied to both plates.
The upper and lower plates may be made from any desired material
and hardwood chip board or flakeboard can conveniently be used.
When, for example, flakeboard is used as the upper plate, the
tubular post is sufficient to support it provided that the plate is
not too large. It is possible, however, to provide tables having a
relatively large upper plate without using relatively thick board
by providing supplementary supports which are spaced from the post
and which extend between the upper and lower plates. In accordance
with this invention, such supplementary supports can simply
comprise vertically extending rods or tubes received within sockets
or depressions formed in the confronting faces of the upper and
lower plates. For added strength, the upper and lower plates of
tables are desirably stronger than the upper and lower plates of
stools. Additional strength can be obtained by adhering two pieces
of commercially available sheet material together. More
particularly, in the table top construction a web or ribbing
construction may be adhered to the underside of the upper plate. By
virtue of the construction of this invention, a wide variety of
tables and stools may be manufactured using plastic tubes as the
post with the plastic tubes all having a common diameter, the tubes
merely being cut to the desired length for manufacturing tables and
stools of various heights. The stool and table bases and seats or
tops can all be made from the desired thickness sheet material and,
where added strength is necessary, pieces of the sheet material can
be glued together in face-to-face relation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stool made in accordance with
this invention.
FIG. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the stool taken along
section line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the portion of the stool
enclosed within the circular section line 3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one form of table construction made
in accordance with this invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the table construction of FIG.
4 taken along section line 5--5 thereof.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the portion of the
table enclosed within the circular section line 6 of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the portion of the table
enclosed within the circular section line 7 of FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a stool generally designated 10
is shown which embodies the features of this invention. The stool
10 consists of an upper plate 12 forming a seat and supported by a
pedestal consisting of a lower plate 14 and a tubular post 16. As
shown in FIG. 2, the confronting faces of the upper plate 12 and
the lower plate 14 have shallow annular grooves 18 and 20,
respectively, receiving the opposite ends of the post 16. The
grooves 18 and 20 assist in aligning the parts and also in holding
them together. The parts are held in a final assembled relation by
a draw bolt 22 extending vertically along the center axis of the
post 16 and through aligned apertures in the plates 12 and 14. The
draw bolt 22 is provided with an enlarged head 24 located in a
counterbore or depression in the top surface of the upper plate 12,
the depth of the counterbore being substantially equal to the
thickness of the enlarged head portion 24, whereupon the top
surface of the enlarged head 24 is coplanar with the top surface of
the upper plate 12. The lower end of the draw bolt 22 may be
threaded as shown in FIG. 3 and receives a washer 26 and a threaded
nut 28 which, when tightened, causes the plates 12 and 14 to be
drawn firmly against the end margins of the post 16. The bottom
surface of the lower plate 14 may be counterbored as indicated at
30 for receiving the washer 26 and the nut 28.
Both the upper plate 12 and the lower plate 14 may be disc-shaped
and cut from sheet material such as flakeboard or the like. As
illustrated, both may have a circular configuration when viewed in
plan, although of course other shapes could be used. If circular,
the draw bolt 22 preferably extends centrally through both of the
plates 12 and 14 as illustrated. The lower plate 14 preferably has
a smaller diameter than the upper plate 12 so that one may
conveniently sit on the upper plate 12 without having the lower
plate 14 significantly interfere with the position of his feet.
The hollow post 16 is preferably made from relatively thin-walled
plastic tubing although it also could be made from wood or other
material and the wall thickness could be greater than that
illustrated. It is preferably formed as a right-angled cylinder so
as to mount the upper plate 12 in parallel relation to the lower
plate 14 to provide a perfectly horizontal seat.
The parts as thus far described are sufficient to form a stool for
general use. Because the draw bolt assembly including the bolt 22
and the nut 28 tends to pull the centers of the plates 12 and 14
toward one another, thus firmly trapping the ends of the post 16 in
the grooves 18 and 20, the assembled stool is of a highly rigid
construction.
It will be appreciated that the stool 10 could be shipped in a
disassembled condition from a manufacturer to a consumer and
assembled with very little difficulty or skill required on the part
of the user. The stools may be made with relatively short posts 16
and draw bolts 22 for children and longer posts 16 and draw bolts
22 for adults. In the manufacture of the stools, the posts 16 are
cut to the desired size from longer pieces of plastic piping or the
like. The draw bolts 22 may conveniently be made by welding
stainless steel heads to the rod portions thereof.
A seat back can conveniently be provided, as illustrated, by the
attachment of L-shaped brackets 32 to the undersides of the upper
plate 12 and the attachment of a wooden strip or the like 34 to the
upwardly extending legs of the brackets 32. Rubber coated tacks 36
or other pad members may be affixed to the bottom surfaces of the
lower plate 14.
FIGS. 4 - 7 illustrate one form of a table which is generally
indicated 40 constructed upon the same principles as the stool 10.
The table 40 consists of an upper plate 42, a lower plate 44, a
tubular post 46 spacing the upper and lower plates 42 and 44 and a
draw bolt assembly including a draw bolt 48 and a nut 50 holding
the plates 42 and 44 and the post 46 in assembled relation.
The lower plate 44, in contrast to the lower plate 14 of the stool
10, is in the form of an X and has four radially extending
horizontal legs 52 joining at a hub or center 54 upon which the
post 46 is mounted. For added strength, the lower plate 44 may be
made from two pieces of sheet material 56 and 58, each having the
same thickness as the stool plates 12 and 14, the confronting faces
of which are adhesively or otherwise secured together. To achieve a
pleasing design, the legs and center section of the upper sheet 56
are narrower than the corresponding portions of the lower sheet 58
forming the lower plate 44. Of course, the plate 44 could be made
simply from thicker stock than the stool plates 12 and 14. Two
sheets laminated together is preferred because it is simpler to
vary the design effects using two sheets and further because an
economy of manufacture is obtained by using only a single thickness
of sheet stock for all of the plates from which the tables and
stools are made.
The upper plate 42 of the table 40 is preferably circular in
horizontal extent as illustrated and, depending upon the usage to
which it is to be applied, may be made from the same sheet material
as the stool plates 12 and 14 and as the sheets 56 and 58. For some
applications the table upper plate 42 may have a laminated plastic
covering (not shown) as is common in the furniture industry. The
upper plate 42 is mounted directly upon the post 46 in the same
manner the stool upper plate 12 is mounted on its post 16. However,
where larger table tops are desired, the upper plate 42 includes a
stiffening rib member 60 on its underside having four radially
projecting ribs 60a. As may be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, the rib
member 60 may be cut identically to the upper sheet 56 of the lower
plate 44 and adhered to the sheet 42a from which the principal part
of the plate 42 is formed. Of course, the plate 42 with the rib
member 60 could be made from a single piece of material molded for
formed to the shape illustrated. Still additional support may be
provided by vertically extending supplementary support rods 62
extending between the upper plate 42 and the lower plate 44. The
upper ends of the supplementary support rods 62 are received in
sockets or depressions 64 counterbored in the confronting faces of
the rib member 60 and the lower plate 44. As shown in FIG. 4, the
rods 62 are preferably located in mutually equally
circumferentially spaced relation and at equal radial spacings from
the vertical centerline of the post 46.
As with the stool 10, the upper end of the draw bolt 48 is provided
with an enlarged head 66 received within a mating counterbore or
recess 68 centrally located in the top surface of the upper plate
42 with the top surface of the head 66 coplanar with the plate top
surface. The confronting faces of the upper and lower plates 42 and
44 are provided with shallow annular grooves 70 receiving the
opposite ends of the post 46 so that when the parts are assembled
they are rigidly held together. The post 46 is preferably cut to a
right-angled cylinder configuration from the same plastic tubing
used to form the stool post 16.
From the foregoing it will be noted that a furniture construction
is provided by this invention satisfying the objects of the
invention and enabling the mass production of tables and stools
having a minimum number of parts. The horizontal extent of the
table tops and bases can be changed simply by cutting the upper and
lower plates to different sizes. Also the tables can be
manufactured to customers' desired heights by simply cutting the
draw bolts 48 and the plastic piping forming the central support or
post 46 to the appropriate lengths.
The table 40 illustrated in FIGS. 4 - 7 can be assembled by first
inserting the draw bolt 48 through the opening in the upper plate
42, then inverting the table top assembly and inserting the post 46
and the supplementary support rods 62 in place. The lower plate 44
is then properly positioned and the nut 50 tightened to draw the
upper plate 42 and the lower plate 44 together. The resultant
structure is quite rigid. Essentially the same steps are followed
in assembling a table such as the table 40 but without the support
rods 62. If desired, epoxy or the like adhesive may be used to
secure the ends of the post 46 in the grooves 70.
The economies of manufacture of the furniture construction provided
by this invention should be apparent. It is preferable in all cases
that the draw bolts 22 and 48 extend along the vertical centerline
of the furniture constructions so that the locations of the grooves
receiving the ends of the posts 16 and 46 can easily be determined
from the centerlines of the plates and a simple template can be
used to locate the positions of the counterbores 64 if such are
provided for receiving the supplementary support rods 62.
Although the presently preferred embodiments of the invention have
been described, it will be understood that within the purview of
this invention various changes may be made within the scope of the
appended claims.
* * * * *