U.S. patent number 3,929,375 [Application Number 05/520,708] was granted by the patent office on 1975-12-30 for knock-down sofa.
Invention is credited to Charles C. Gans.
United States Patent |
3,929,375 |
Gans |
December 30, 1975 |
Knock-down sofa
Abstract
A knock-down seating device including a frame comprising a base
supporting at least one cushion thereon, a pair of side walls and a
back wall. The back wall is connected to each side wall at a freely
detachable tongue and groove joint. The joint is held securely
together via the use of detachable, two-component fastening tape,
such as VELCRO. One portion of the base component of the tape is
located within a recess in the side wall and a second and separate
portion of the base component of the tape is located in the recess
in the back wall which is contiguous with the recess in the side
wall. The top component of the tape bridges the two portions of the
bottom component and is detachably fastened thereto to effect the
securement of the joint. A decorative cover is provided over the
outer surface of the top component of the tape.
Inventors: |
Gans; Charles C. (New York,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
24073760 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/520,708 |
Filed: |
November 4, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/440.23;
5/922; 297/DIG.6; 5/12.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47C
17/04 (20130101); A47C 4/028 (20130101); A47C
4/02 (20130101); Y10S 5/922 (20130101); Y10S
297/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
17/00 (20060101); A47C 4/00 (20060101); A47C
17/04 (20060101); A47C 4/02 (20060101); A47C
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/440,442,443,DIG.6
;403/402,403,405-407,231,382 ;24/DIG.18 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; James C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein &
Cohen
Claims
What is claimed as the invention is:
1. A knock-down seating device comprising a frame supporting at
least one cushion thereon, said frame comprising a back wall, a
side wall and base for said cushion and supported by said back and
said side walls, said back and side walls being connected to each
other by a freely detachable joint, said joint being secured
together by a fastening tape comprising first and second
components, one of said components having two separate portions and
the other component having only a single portion, one of said
components having a plurality of hook-like elements thereon and the
other component having a plurality of loop-like elements thereon,
one separate portion of one component being permanently secured to
the back wall and the other separate portion of said one component
being permanently secured to the side wall, said other component
bridging both of the separate portions of the said one component
and being releasably secured to each.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said first component has said
plural hook-like elements thereon and wherein said second component
has said plural loop-like elements thereon.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein said second component includes
said two separate portions.
4. The device of claim 3 wherein the back wall and the side wall
each have outer surfaces and the separate portions of the second
component are disposed within respective recesses formed in the
outer surfaces of said back wall and side wall.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein said joint is a tongue and groove
joint.
6. The device of claim 2 additionally comprising a front panel
disposed within a notch in said side wall and secured in place by
the use of a releaseable tape comprising a first and a second
component, said first component having a plurality of hook-like
elements thereon and the second component having a plurality of
loop-like elements thereon, with one of said components being
formed of two separate portions, one portion being secured to the
side wall and one portion being secured to the front panel, said
second component bridging both of the portions of the first
component and being releasably secured thereto.
7. The device of claim 6 wherein the second component includes the
separate portions which are secured to the back wall and the side
wall, respectively.
8. The device of claim 7 wherein the front panel has an outer
surface and wherein the separate portions of the second component
which are secured to the side wall and the front panel are disposed
within respective recesses formed in the outer surfaces of the side
wall and the front panel.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein the first component of said tape
includes a decorative covering on the outside thereof.
10. The device of claim 8 wherein the first component of said tape
includes a decorative covering on the outside thereof.
Description
This invention relates generally to furniture and more particularly
to knock-down seating devices.
Due to various economic factors and the increased mobility of
people in today's industrialized society, a deep need has developed
and presently exists for furniture which can be manufacture,
transported and assembled inexpensively, quickly and easily. To
that end, various types of knock-down furniture have been proposed
and are available.
As is known, knock-down furniture is a designation for a type of
furniture construction wherein the furniture is shipped from the
factory in a disassembled state and is arranged to be readily
assembled by the user without the need for any special effort or
skill.
While occasional furniture, such as, chairs, small tables, etc.,
are frequently designed and have found substantial commercial
acceptance utilizing knock-down construction techniques, large
pieces of furniture utilizing such techniques have not heretofore
met with any widespread commercial acceptance. The reason for the
failure to gain such acceptance is primarily based upon esthetic
considerations since knock-down furniture in order to be simple
enough to enable the ready assemblage and disassemblage thereof,
invariably gives a flimsy or temporarily constructed look and not
the finished and integral look of conventionally constructed
furniture.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to overcome
the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further object of this invention to provide knock-down
furniture which, when assembled, has the look of conventionally
assembled furniture.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide
knowk-down seating furniture which can be readily assembled and
disassembled, is low in cost and which, once assembled has the look
of conventionally assembled furniture.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide knock-down
seating furniture which is extremely sturdy in construction and yet
which is held together by extremely simple connection means.
These and other objects of this invention are achieved by providing
a knock-down seating device comprising a frame for supporting at
least one cushion thereon. The frame comprises a back wall, a side
wall and a base for the cushion. The base is supported by the back
wall and the side wall. The back wall and the side wall are
connected to each other by a freely detachable joint. The joint is
secured together by a fastening tape.
Other objects in many of the attendant advantages of this invention
will readily be appreciated as the same becomes better understood
by reference to the following detailed description when considered
in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a knock-down sofa in accordance
with this invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the sofa shown
in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG.
1.
Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like
reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown in FIG. 1
a sofa 20 constructed in accordance with this invention. Sofa 20 is
of a knock-down construction for ready assemblage, disassemblage
and transportation and basically comprises a supporting frame 22
and a plurality of pillows or cushions 24 and 26. As can be seen
three similar pillows 24 are provided and serve as the seat of the
sofa and a single large pillow 26 serves as a back cushion
thereof.
As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the frame basically comprises a
vertically oriented, rectangularly shaped, planar back wall 28,
whose construction will be described in detail later, a pair of
vertically oriented, rectangularly shaped, planar side walls 30,
whose construction will also be described later, and a rectangular
shaped, planar base panel 32. One side wall 30 is connected at each
end of the back wall 28 by a respective freely detachable joint
34.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention the
joints are tightly secured together by readily detachable tape
fastening means 36, such as VELCRO tape, manufactured by Velcro
Manufacturing Company of Manchester, N.H. The details of the joint
34 and the joint securement means 36 will be described in detail
later.
The base panel 32 is a planar member upon which the pillows 24 are
disposed and is supported by the frame 22 above the ground and
tilted slightly upward toward the front in the interest of seating
comfort. Means for supporting the panel 32 comprise plural support
ribs 38. The ribs are elongated members with one rib being secured,
via any suitable connection means (not shown), to the inside face
of the back wall 28 parallel to and adjacent the ground upon which
the sofa is disposed. Similar elongated ribs are secured to the
inside surfaces of each of the side walls and extend upward from
back to front in order to support the panel in a tilted orientation
heretofore described. The base panel 32 is disposed upon the ribs
with the back edge 42 of the panel overlying the rib 38 on the back
wall and with the side edges 44 of the panel overlying the ribs 38
on the respective side walls of the frame.
In order to hold the panel 32 in place and to prevent it from
sliding out of the sofa a front panel 46 is provided. The front
panel is an elongated member including a flange 48 at each end.
Each flange of the panel portion contiguous therewith is adapted
for disposition whithin a mating groove 50 in the front portion of
each side wall of the frame and is secured in place by tape
fastening means 36. As can be seen the groove 50 is disposed at
about the height of the front end of the support rib 38 and
includes two portions, one portion 52, being in the outside face 54
of the side wall 30 immediately adjacent to front face or edge 56
thereof and the other portion, 58, of the groove 50 being in the
front edge 56 and contiguous with portion 52.
When the front panel is mounted in place with its flanges disposed
in the respective grooves in the side walls and secured in place
therein the upper edge 60 of the front panel extends slightly above
the top surface 62 of the base panel 32 to completely conceal the
front edge 64 thereof and also to provide a lip which precludes the
pillows 24 from sliding out the front of the sofa.
As can be seen in FIG. 3 the back wall 28 of the sofa is a hollow
member having a standard interior frame 66, preferably formed of a
hard wood, to which planar panels 68, 70 and 72, such as plywood
having a decorative veneer thereon, are secured. The planar panel
68 forms the front face 40 of the back wall, the planar panel 70
forms the back face of the back wall and the planar panels 72 form
the respective edges or edge faces of the back wall. A top panel 74
(FIGS. 1 and 2) serves to complete the back wall.
In the interest of design, the edges of all of the panels forming
the back wall are mitered (see FIG. 3) so that the only seams at
all visible are along the edge corners of the back wall.
The side walls 30 are constructed in an identical manner to each
other and also include a standard interior frame 66 to which planar
panels 76, 78 and 80, such as plywood having a decorative veneer
thereon, are secured. The planar panel 76 forms the outside face 54
of the side wall, the panel 78 forms the inside face of the side
wall and, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the panel 80 forms the front
edge face 56 of the side wall. The back edge of the side wall is
formed by frame 66 and is concealed when the side wall is secured
to the back wall. Like back wall 28, side walls 30 also include top
panels 82 (FIGS. 1 and 2) which complete the side wall. The lateral
edges of the panel forming the side walls are mitered in a similar
manner as the panels forming the back wall so that the only seams
visible are along the edge corners of the side wall.
As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 the detachable joints 34 are of the
tongue and groove type. To that end, a respectively elongated
groove 84 is provided in the front panel 68 of the back wall
closely adjacent to each edge face 72 thereof. The groove 84
extends for almost a full height of the back wall but does not
extend into the top panel 74 thereof so as to be completely
concealed when the frame is connected. A tongue 86 projects from
frame 66 and extends almost a full length thereto and is adapted to
mate with groove 84 to effect the connection of the side wall 30 to
the back wall 28.
The frame securement means 36, as noted heretofore, consists of
VELCRO tape. As is known, such tape consists of two separable
strips. One component strip has a back surface and a front surface
having a large plurality of loop-like elements thereon and the
other component strip has a front surface and a back surface having
a large plurality of hook-like elements thereon. The strips are
adapted to be secured to each other by the coaction of the
hook-like elements and the loop-like elements. To that end the
strips are abutted, such that the hook-like elements contact and
intertwine the loop-like elements to effect the securement between
the two strips. The resulting securement between the strips is very
firm yet the strips can be readily detached by pulling one off the
other.
In order to effect the securement of the components of the sofa
frame 22, one component of the tape 36, includes two separate
portions 86 and 88, which portions are secured within respective
recesses within the walls forming the frame 22. For example, one
portion 86 of one component of the tape 36 is disposed and secured
by an adhesive on its rear surface, within a recessed 90 in the
side panel 76 of the side wall 30 and the second and separate
portion of that component of the tape is similarly disposed and
secured within a recess 92 in the edge panel 72 and back panel 70
of the back wall 28.
The other component of the tape 36 is denoted by the reference
numeral 94 and is an integral strip which is arranged to bridge the
two separate portions 86 and 88 to secure these portions to itself
and hence to each other.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the
portions 86 and 88 are formed of the component having the loop-like
elements on its front surface since the loops are relatively soft
and hence do not present any rough surface when the second
component of the tape is not connected thereto.
The second component 94 includes a decorative cover 96, such as
leather or simulated leather, on its outer surface, such that when
the strip 94 is in place, it not only secures the joint together
and completely covers the two portions 86 and 88 of the other
component of the fastening means, but is also serves as a
decoration for the frame 22.
The recesses in the frame walls are made of sufficient depth that
when the fastening tape means 36 is in place, the top surface of
its component 96 is substantially flush with the outer surface of
the frame 22 to provide a clean line.
The front panel 46 is secured to the end walls 30 through the use
of similarly constructed fastening tape 36, whose components are
disposed within recesses 90 and 92 in a manner like that described
heretofore.
The use of VELCRO tape to effect the securement of the frame of the
sofa enables such securement to be effected rapidly and without the
use of any tools or special techniques. In addition, by virtue of
the releaseability of the components of the tape, the frame of the
sofa can be disassembled easily. This feature is of considerable
importance when it is desired to move or tansport the sofa.
It should be pointed out a this juncture that while the drawings
and the specification have described a knock-down sofa, it is to be
understood that this invention encompasses the construction of all
types of seating devices such as love seats, divans, sectional
sofas, chairs, etc.
As should thus be appreciated, the seating device of this invention
is simple in construction, can be readily assembled and
disassembled and transported, yet once assembled, has the look of
conventional integrally constructed furniture.
Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate
my invention that others may, by applying current or future
knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions
of service.
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