Collapsible Bar

Abstract

A knock-down or collapsible bar for serving beverages or food or the like and which has a front wall and side wall structures for supporting a counter. The front wall is comprised of two separate sections, and these two sections are hinged together and are also hinged to the sidewalls whereby the walls can be folded together in accordian fashion and in a very compact and relatively narrow package. Each of the walls is comprised of side rails and cross rails which form a generally rectangular frame structure in which flexible fabric-like panels are removably inserted. The counter is readily attached to and detached from the upper edge of the walls and an interior shelf is replacable and easily set within the walls so as to rigidify them and hold them in assembled relationship with the counter. Straps are detachably connected between the interior shelf and the sidewalls so as to further rigidify the structure when in assembled position. The entire structure can be readily disassembled and compactly folded in such a manner that the interior shelf nests in the underside of the counter and the walls when folded in accordian fashion form a dimensioned package that is generally the same as the container; the entire assembly can then be readily and compactly packaged in a box for storage or transport.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to collapsible cabinet structures and particularly those of the type having a serving counter across the top and are generally portable in nature.

An example of a prior art type of portable bar over which the present invention is an improvement is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,033,632 which issued May 8, 1962 and entitled "Collapsible Bar" to Major Felten. In that device, the front wall was of such a dimension that it defined not only the overall height of the bar, but also the overall width of the bar and that particular bar when completely collapsed had a dimension generally that of the relatively large front wall, and generally that bar could not be collapsed into as compact an assembly as contemplated by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a collapsible bar having ground engaging and counter supporting walls comprising two sidewalls and a front wall which is made of two sections, those sections and the sidewalls each being generally of the same width whereby they can be folded in accordian fashion in a particularly compact manner. Each of the sections and sidewalls is comprised of side frame and cross frame members which form a rigid end in which are removably mounted flexible panels for advertising or the like. The panels can be removed for cleaning or replacement of one type or another. The counter of the portable bar has a guide or rigidifying rail along one edge thereof and against which the upper edge of the front wall bears when in assembled relation. The counter also has spring type catches for quickly and releasably engaging the side walls to further rigidify the structure in assembled relationship. An interior shelf is provided for being detachably located within and between the vertical walls when in the assembled position and which acts to hold the sections of the front wall and the sidewalls rigidly in place against the undersurface of the counter top. This interior shelf, when the bar is disassembled, and folded together, is nested within the undersurface of the counter top in a compact manner. The assembled interior shelf and counter top are approximately the same overall dimension as the full collapsed walls and thereby form a compact package.

A more limited aspect of the invention relates to the quickly removably fabric panels for each of the vertical walls.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the collapsible bar made in accordance with the present invention, the view being taken generally from the front and left side corner of the bar;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the bar shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the wall structure of the bar, the counter and interior shelf being removed;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the wall structure shown in FIG. 3 and also of the interior shelf in exploded relationship to the wall structure;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the wall structure when collapsed in accordian fashion to the storage position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view, in section, of the front corner of the wall structure;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view through one of the replacable panel units, the view being taken generally along the line 7--7 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 8--8 in FIG. 1 and showing how the upper edges of the wall structure are engaged by the lower portion of the counter;

FIG. 9 is a horizontal view of the interior shelf and taken from beneath the shelf, the view being taken generally along the line 9--9 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the counter and showing the interior shelf when nested in relation to the underside of the counter and held in the storage position by strap like members;

FIG. 11 is an end view of the counter top, the view being taken generally along the line 11--11 in FIG. 10, but on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 12--12 in FIG. 8 but on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13--13 in FIG. 9, but on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 14 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view, partially in section and showing the means for detachably mounting the flexible panels within the rectangular framework of the walls.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The wall structure for the bar of the present invention is comprised of a left sidewall 1, a right sidewall 2, and a front sidewall 3. The front sidewall 3 in turn is comprised of a front wall 4 and front wall 5, which are similar in construction, shape and size, to the sidewalls. As shown in FIG. 5, when the walls are folded together in accordian fashion, it will be noted that the walls 1 and 2 are of the same width as the front walls 4 and 5. The front walls 4 and 5 are hinged together along their adjacent edge by hinges 6 which permit the front walls to fold with their front surfaces together while the sidewalls 1 and 2 are hinged by pairs of hinges 7 and 8, respectively, to sections 4 and 5, respectively, so that the inner surface of walls 1 and 2 abut against the inner surface of walls 4 and 5, respectively when in the assembled position shown in FIG. 5. As mentioned above, each of the walls are similar in construction, size and shape, and have two parallel and vertically arranged side rails 10 and 11, which are rigidly held in spaced apart relationship by the cross rails 12 and 13. The cross rails 12 and 13 are rigidly joined to members 10 and 11 in any manner, such as by dowl joints, glue, or the like. It is believed a description of one of these walls will be sufficient inasmuch as all of the walls are similar as above noted. In any event, the vertical wall is formed as a generally rectangular frame member in which is detachably mounted a flexible fabric 15 having a loop sewn in each of its upper and lower ends. A cross bar 17 is inserted in each of the loops and is of a length that fits snugly between the vertical rails 10 and 11. A hole 18 is drilled through the cross bars and a metal rod 19 is inserted through these holes and also through aligned holes 20 in the vertical rails 10 and 11. The rods can be easily inserted through the aligned holes to hold the panel in assembled relationship in the wall and can be pushed out of the holes and withdrawn therefrom in order to remove the panels for cleaning, replacement, or repair. The panels may contain advertising or other decorative displays thereon.

The horizontal counter 25 is of such a size that it extends slightly over the walls when in the assembled position and has a front guide rail 26 rigidly secured along the front edge thereof. As shown in FIG. 8, when the bar is assembled, the front walls 4 and 5 abut against the rail 26 while the upper edge of the sidewalls 1 and 2 are snugly engaged by the steel spring members 30 and 31, respectively. The spring members are formed as opposed spring clips which abut against the sides of the walls and hold them firlmy in position. The walls are further rigidly held in relation to the counter by the interior shelf 35 shown clearly in FIGS. 4 and 9. This interior shelf is formed of a trapezoidal shape which complements the interior shape of the walls when assembled and as clearly shown in FIG. 4. The sidewalls have upwardly facing hooks 37, 38, 39 and 40 (FIG. 3) which receive the correspondingly positioned hooks 47, 48, 49 and 50 (FIG. 9) of the interior shelf. The interior shelf is easily assembled in the wall structure by simply inserting it into the wall structure slightly above the hooks of the wall structure and then lowering it into place where the hooks of the interior shelf rest on the hooks of the wall structure. This acts to rigidly hold the walls in their proper position relative to one another and also relative to the counter and the guide rail 26 thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the assembled structure is further rigidified by the strap members 60, 61 which have female snap members 62 at each of their ends and which snugly snap and thereby engage the male snap members 64 and 65 located, respectively, on the rear edge of the interior shelf and also at the lower rear edge of the sidewalls 1 and 2.

When the bar is disassembled, it will be noted as shown in FIG. 10, that the interior shelf nests against the underside of the counter and more specifically between the guide rail 26 and the other guide rail 27 arranged in parallelism and along the rear edge of the undersurface of the counter.

Straps 60 and 61 are also used to securely hold the interior shelf to the underside of the counter and male snap members 66 are provided on the underside of rails 26 and 27 for this purpose.

The overall width of the folded walls as shown in FIG. 5 is generally the same as the width of the counter and therefore the entire bar forms a relatively small, compact package for storing and shipping containers or the like.

Claims

We claim:

1. A collapsible bar comprising a pair of normally upright front walls, left sidewall and right sidewall, said walls all being of generally similar construction, size and shape, said front walls being hinged together at their adjacent edges and said sidewalls being hinged to opposite and adjacent edges of said front walls whereby said walls can all be folded together in accordian fashion in a storage position, said walls each comprising a generally rectangular framework having an open center, replacable panel members located in said rectangular frames, said bar also including a generally horizontal one-piece counter abuttable against the upper ends of said walls for support thereby, means on the underside of said counter for releasably holding said sidwwalls, whereby said counter can be lifted free of said sidewalls, guide rail means on the underside of said counter for guiding and abutting against said front walls, a one-piece interior shelf of a size and shape complementing the interior configuration of said walls when the latter are in assembled relationship with said counter, interengaging means carried by said interior shelf and said walls for releasably supporting said interior shelf against said walls and for rigidifying the latter in respect to each other and holding them in assembled relationship with said counter, said interior shelf being of a width which is less than the width of said counter and nestable in said counter when in said storage position, and the width of said walls when folded in accordian fashion relative to one another being generally the same as the width of said counter.

2. The collapsible bar set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that each wall comprises a framework of generally rectangular shape having an open center, and said panel members are flexible panels detachably inserted within said framework of said walls.

3. A bar as set forth in claim 2 in which said panels have looped end cross bars extending through looped ends of said panel, and withdrawable rods insertable through said framework of said walls and through said cross bars to hold the panels in assembled relationship within the framework of said walls.

4. A collapsible bar comprising a pair of normally upright front walls, left sidewall and right sidewall, said walls all being of generally similar construction, size and shape, said front walls being hinged together at their adjacent edges and said sidewalls being hinged to opposite and adjacent edges of said front walls whereby said walls can all be folded together in accordian fashion in a storage position, said bar also including a generally horizontal one-piece counter abuttable against the upper ends of said walls for support thereby, said walls when folded in accordian fashion relative to one another are generally the same as the width of said counter, means on the underside of said counter for releasably holding said side walls in assembled relationship and from which said one-piece counter can be lifted free of said sidewalls, a guide rail on the underside of said counter for abutting against said front walls, a one-piece interior shelf of a size and shape complementing the interior configuration of said walls when the latter are in assembled relationship with said counter, interengaging means carried by said interior shelf and said walls for releasably supporting said interior shelf against said walls and for rigidifying the latter in respect to each other and holding them in assembled relationship with said counter, said interior shelf being of a width which is less than the width of said counter for nesting in said counter when in the storage position.

5. The collapsible bar set forth in claim 4 further characterized in that each wall comprises a framework of generally rectangular shape having an open center, and flexible panel means detachably inserted within said framework of said walls.

6. A bar as set forth in claim 5 in which said panels have looped end cross bars extending through looped ends of said panel, and withdrawable rods insertable through said framework of said walls and through said cross bars to hold the panels in assembled relationship within the framework of said walls.