Title: Modular furniture assembly
Abstract: A modular furniture assembly includes at least one first component and a second component. The second component includes a cavity. The at least one first component and the second component are adaptable to be stowed in a compact stowed position such that the modular furniture assembly forms a geometric shape when in the stowed position. A method for forming a furniture assembly is also disclosed. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
Patent Number: 6,883,878 Issued on 04/26/2005 to Gorelick
| Inventors:
|
Gorelick; Tracei (630 Vaughn Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
264980 |
| Filed:
|
October 4, 2002 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
312/108; 312/235.4; 297/17 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A47B 007//02 |
| Field of Search: |
312/108,111,235.4,241,240
108/11,14,501.1
297/161,17,52,53,440.14,440.1
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 415371 | Nov., 1889 | Smith.
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| 1002937 | Sep., 1911 | Spade.
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| 1659840 | Feb., 1928 | Smith.
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| 2381464 | Aug., 1945 | Rosenthal.
| |
| 2659642 | Nov., 1953 | Records.
| |
| 3674306 | Jul., 1972 | Botney.
| |
| 3834776 | Sep., 1974 | Becker, Jr.
| |
| 4050736 | Sep., 1977 | Karp.
| |
| 4223945 | Sep., 1980 | Nikitits.
| |
| 5074619 | Dec., 1991 | D'Orsi et al.
| |
| 5383721 | Jan., 1995 | Thomas.
| |
| 5685600 | Nov., 1997 | Kuo.
| |
| 5810430 | Sep., 1998 | Bryjak et al.
| |
| 5967600 | Oct., 1999 | Jelacic et al.
| |
| 6068331 | May., 2000 | Barnes.
| |
| 6216410 | Apr., 2001 | Haberman.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 1466494 | Mar., 1977 | GB.
| |
Primary Examiner: Wilkens; Janet M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rader, Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
Parent Case Text
CLAIM TO PRIORITY
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/327,452,
filed Oct. 5, 2001, the entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
1. A modular furniture assembly, comprising:
at least one chair capable of being folded into a closed position, and
a table including a cavity,
wherein the at least one chair is deployed from the closed position to an open
position by unfolding the at least one chair;
wherein the table is stowed within an opening formed by the at least one chair
when the at least one chair is in the closed position such that the modular furniture
assembly forms a geometric shape when the table is stowed within the opening formed
by the at least one chair;
a locking mechanism for locking the chair in the closed position; and
wherein the locking mechanism prevents pivotal movement of one of a back and
a leg of the chair when unfolding the chair from the closed position to the open
position.
2. The modular furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the geometric
shape is a cube.
3. The modular furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cavity is
adaptable for storing articles when the assembly is in the stowed position.
4. The modular furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of
the at least one chair is approximately equal to a dimension of the table.
5. The modular furniture assembly according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism
comprises one of a surface bolt and a dowel.
6. A modular furniture assembly, comprising:
at least one chair capable of being folded into a closed position, and
a table including a cavity,
wherein the at least one chair is deployed from the closed position to an open
position by unfolding the at least one chair;
wherein the table is stowed within an opening formed by the at least one chair
when the at least one chair is in the closed position such that the modular furniture
assembly forms a geometric shape when the table is stowed within the opening formed
by the at least one chair; and
wherein the chair includes a rear leg having a lip portion, wherein the lip portion
extends past a plane defined by a top surface of a seat to prevent a back from
pivoting past a predetermined angle with respect to the seat.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to furniture, and in particular to a modular furniture
assembly that forms a compact, geometric shape when in a stowed position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a modular furniture assembly comprising
at least one first component and a second component. The second component includes
a cavity. The at least one first component and the second component are adaptable
to be stowed in a compact position such that the modular furniture assembly forms
a geometric shape when in the compact position.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for forming a
modular furniture assembly. The method comprises the steps of locking one or more
first components in a stowed position, and nesting a second component within the
one or more first components, whereby the furniture assembly forms a geometric shape.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a modular furniture assembly
including at least one chair and a table. The modular furniture assembly comprises
at least one chair, and a table including a cavity, wherein the at least one chair
and the table are adaptable to be stowed in a compact position such that the modular
furniture assembly forms a geometric shape when in the compact position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a modular furniture assembly
in a stowed position;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 1 when a table is in a partially removed position;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 1 when the table is in a fully removed position and two chairs are shown attached
together in the stowed position;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 1 illustrating the two chairs in a separated, stowed position;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 4 showing one of the chairs in a first, partially deployed position and the
other chair in the stowed position;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 5 showing one of the chairs in a fully deployed position and the other chair
in a first, partially deployed position;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 6 showing both of the chairs are in a fully deployed position;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 7 showing the table in an upward position, exposing a cavity and both chairs
in an upright, fully deployed position;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the modular furniture assembly according to
FIG. 8 showing the table in an upside-down position, exposing a solid surface and
both chairs in an upright, fully deployed position;
FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the modular furniture assembly showing a perspective
view of a chair in an upright position; and
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a seat and front leg of the chair according
to FIG. 10.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1-9 illustrate a furniture assembly according to one embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the modular furniture assembly, which is shown
generally at
10, forms a geometric shape, such as a cube, when a table
12
and chairs
14a,
14b are locked together by locking
means, such as surface bolts
16a-
16e. Although only
five surface bolts
16a-
16e are shown in the illustrated
view according to FIG. 1, any desirable amount of surface bolts may be included
in the design of the furniture assembly
10.
As seen in FIG. 2, to begin forming the furniture assembly
10, the table
12 is shown in a nested position and pulled outward, as illustrated by the
arrow M, from the pair of attached chairs
14a,
14b.
A knob
18 or other pull means may be included on the table
12 to
facilitate removing of the table
12 from the pair of attached chairs
14a,
14b. Once the table
12 is completely removed from the pair
of attached chairs
14a,
14b (FIG.
3), the chairs
14a,
14b, may be separated from each other by detaching
the surface bolts
16a,
16c, and
16e (FIG.
4). The table
12 may comprise a plurality of solid surfaces
32,
34,
36,
38,
40, and a cavity
20 as a means for
storing articles, such as toys, and art supplies, such as a smock, a tarp, paints,
brushes, stencils, markers, sponges, stickers, and the like (not shown).
Next, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, the pair of chairs
14a,
14b,
can be deployed in an "open" position by detaching the surface bolts
16b,
16d, respectively. The detaching of surface bolt
16b facilitates
deployment of the chair
14b, and the detaching of surface bolt
16d
facilitates deployment of the chair
14a. Upon detaching the surface
bolts
16b and
16d, a back
22 of each chair
14a,
14b can be unfolded by pivoting the back
22 about a seat
28.
In similar fashion, a front leg
24 may be unfolded and pivoted about the
seat
28 once the chairs
14a,
14b, are separated
from each other by the detaching of the surface bolts
16a,
16c,
and
16e as described above. Essentially, the back
22 and front
leg
24 are pivoted about respective pivoting means, such as hinges
26.
Each hinge
26 is located about each side of the seat
28.
As also shown in FIGS. 5-7, a rear leg
30 having a lip portion
31
is illustrated in a fixed relationship with the seat
28. The lip portion
31 is defined to include the portion of the rear leg
30 that extends
past a plane, P (FIG.
7), defined by the top surface of the seat
28
when the chairs
14a,
14b are situated in an upright
position. When the back
22 is deployed, the lip portion
31 of the
rear leg
30 prevents the back from pivoting past a 90° pivot angle
with respect to the seat
28. However, the lip portion
31 may also
include a bezel (not shown) having a desirable angle that is referenced from the
plane, P, of the top surface of the seat
28. The bezel may be desirably
positioned in adjacent relationship to the back
22 so as to permit the back
22 to pivot and recline about the hinge
26 at an angle great than
90° with respect to the seat
28.
As best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, after fully pivoting the front leg
24
and
back
22 in a deployed position, the surface bolts
16a-
16d
are orientated in a locking relationship so that each chair
14a,
14b is rigidly secured for positioning in an upright seating arrangement.
As shown in FIG. 9, the table
12 can be turned such that the solid surface
32 is facing upward, and the furniture assembly
10 can be used by
children for various playtime activities, such as a tea party.
Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the modular furniture assembly
10
may include another embodiment of the locking means that comprises a plurality
of holes
16f-
16l (FIG. 10) formed in a chair
14
for cooperation with a plurality of dowels
17 (FIG.
11). The deployment
of the chair
14 with the holes
16f-
16l from
a "closed position" to an "open position" functions in a similar manner as described
above in FIGS. 1-9 for the chairs
14a,
14b. Although
only seven holes
16f-
16l are shown in the illustrated
view according to FIG. 10, any desirable amount of holes may be included in the
design of the chair
14. The holes
16f-
16l may
be formed in the chair
14 with any desirable technique, such as for example,
drilling, laser scoring, or with another similar forming method. Each hole
16f-
16l
is further defined to include a passage
17a and a receiving portion
17b (FIG. 11) that is adaptable to receive the dowels
17.
According to the illustrated view in FIG. 11, the passage
17a
and receiving portion
17b described above is shown in greater
detail for the hole
16k. As illustrated, the passage
17a
extends through the seat
28 and the receiving portion
17b
extending through a portion of the front leg
24. In this example, once
the dowel
17 is fully passed through the passage
17a and received
at the receiving portion
17b, the seat
28 and the front leg
24 are fixed in a locked relationship, and the pivotal movement of the front
leg
24 about the seat
28 is prevented. In order to supplement the
locking arrangement of the front leg
24 about the seat
28 at the
hole
16k, another dowel is passed through the opposing hole
16l,
which is located in the seat
28 and front leg
24.
In a similar fashion described above for the holes
16k and
16l,
the back
22 is fixed in a locked relationship with the rear leg
30
at the holes
16h-
16j. Passages
17a extend
through the back
22 and receiving portions
17b extend through
a portion of the rear leg
30. The holes
16f and
16g,
which are shown near the top of the back
22, are provided so that dowels
may lock the chair
14 in a stowed position, as seen in a similar fashion
in FIGS. 1-4. Additional holes may also be included in the design of the chair
14 so that a pair of chairs
14 may be locked together, as shown in
FIGS. 1-3 above.
During the various stages of deployment of the chair
14, some of the
dowels
17 may not be used and stowed accordingly in the cavity
20
or at a remote location from the modular furniture assembly
10. Essentially,
the use of the holes
16f-
16l and the dowels
17
reduces costs and eliminates the need for extra materials for other locking means,
such as the surface bolts
16a-
16e. Even further, when
the holes
16f-
16l and dowels
17 are employed,
the design of the modular furniture assembly
10 results in a less structural,
visually pleasing appearance of the chair
14.
As described above, the modular furniture assembly
10 having an appearance
of a geometric shape in a stowed, closed position may be transformed into a table
12 and chairs
14a,
14b when unlocked in a deployed,
open position. This is accomplished by nesting the table
12 within the chairs
14a,
14b to give the appearance of the geometric shape,
such as a cube. It should be noted that the seat
28, the back
22,
and the front and rear legs
24,
30 of the chairs
14a,
14b have approximately the same height and width dimensions as the
height and width dimensions, X, Y (FIG.
5), of the table
12 so that
the table
12 can be nested within the chairs
14a,
14b.
However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited by the "nesting"
of the table
12 within the chairs
14a,
14b to
form a geometric shape, but rather, the chairs
14a,
14b
may be dimensioned such that the chairs
14a,
14b themselves
may be "nested" within the cavity
20 of the table
12. It will also
be appreciated that the invention is not limited by the number of chairs
14a,
14b, and that the invention can be practiced with any desired number
of chairs
14a,
14b to form the assembly. Even further,
although the invention is illustrated in a geometric shape comprising a cube, the
invention can be practiced with any desired three-dimensional geometric shape,
such as a pyramid, a faceted diamond, and the like.
While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain
specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration
and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed
as broadly as the prior art will permit.
*
