US3865051A

US3865051A - Folding article of furniture

Info

Publication number: US3865051A
Application number: US348690A
Authority: US
Inventors: Anton Johl; Winfried P H Malich
Original assignee: LOUIS ETHAN Ltd
Current assignee: LOUIS ETHAN Ltd
Priority date: 1973-03-30
Filing date: 1973-04-06
Publication date: 1975-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 1992-02-11
Also published as: CA975417A

Abstract

An interlocking corner joint comprising a first and a second interlocking connector strip secured to an edge of a respective one of two members hinged together to form a joint. The first and second connectors are provided with means for rigidly interlocking each other when placed in abutting relationship. The members are hinged to provide arcuate displacement of the first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of the corner joint.

Description

ilnited totes Patent [191 ,lohl et a1.

[11] 3,65,051 Feb. 11, 11975 FOLDING ARTICLE OF FURNITURE [75] Inventors: Anton .llohl; Winiried P. H. Malich, both of Montreal, Quebec, Canada [73] Assignee: Louis Ethan Ltd., Montreal,

Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Apr. 6, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 348,690

52/71 [51] Int. Cl A471) 3/00 [58] Field of Search 108/131, 132, 129; 5/314,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 317,097 5/1885 Danner 108/132 581,589 4/1897 Houghton 108/132 1,133,109 3/1915 Derbyshire 108/132 gg f4 1,480,945 1/1924 Moseley 16/128 R 2,605,617 8/1952 Replogle.,.. 312/258 X 2,750,991 6/1956 Lay 297/35 3,093,095 6/1963 Howe 108/131 3,259,080 7/1966 Laroche 108/131 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 161,012 6/1933 Switzerland 108/131 Primary Examiner-Francis K. Zugel [57] ABSTRACT An interlocking corner joint comprising a first and a second interlocking connector strip secured to an edge of a respective one of two members hinged together to form a joint. The first and second connectors are provided with means for rigidly interlocking each other when placed in abutting relationship. The members are hinged to provide arcuate displacement of the first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of the corner joint.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures fig t r PATENTEU FEB 1 1 I975 SHEET 20F 2 r FOLDING ARTICLE OF FURNITURE BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interlocking corner joint and more particularly, but not exclusively, for use with furniture.

2. Description of Prior Art Heretofore, furniture such as desks, tables or the like, ha e qnstmc sd e he in a a rassemb sd or knock-down form. In the latter case, a person must assemble the various components of the furniture piece with conventional tools and hardware. Also, furniture of the folding type is in most instances made of light weight materials for ease of handling and assembly, i.e. folding tables, etc., and do not provide a rigid piece of furniture. Further, because the components of knockdown furniture are detached from each other, they are subject to displacement in their packaged container and sometimes damage their finished surfaces during transit. Still further, a component of such a piece of furniture can be easily lost during handling and often requires detailed instructions for assembly.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is a feature of the present invention to provide an interlocking corner joint for interlocking edges of adjoining members of a piece of furniture.

It is a further feature to provide fastening means which will permit folding furniture to be erected quickly without tools.

A still further feature is to provide folding furniture which when knocked down can be packaged and stored economically.

According to these features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an interlocking corner joint for an article of furniture comprising a first and a second interlocking connector strip secured to an edge of a respective one of two members hinged together to form a joint. The connectors consist of elongated striplike edge connectors secured respectively to an angulated joint edge of the members and extending beyond the outer planar surface of its associated member to provide a protective edge along the interconnected outer edges of the members. The members are hinged to provide arcuate displacement of the first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of the corner joint whereby the members can be collapsed one on top of the other and in predetermined spaced apart relationship.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS A Preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view of an article of furniture constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the article of furniture in its folded state;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented sectional view of a portion of the article of furniture;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are cross-sectional views of further configurations of the edge connector;

FIG. 5 is a fragmented sectional side view illustrating the positioning of the fastening pin and locking disc positioned in the furniture; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmented sectional top view of the illustration of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown generally at 10 an article of furniture constructed in accordance with the present invention. Hereinshown, the article is a desk or table formed of flat rectangular panels comprising a top panel 11, two side panels 12 and an interconnecting member hereinshown as a front panel 13. The side panels 12 support the top panel 11 at the desired height from the floor and may be provided with legs 14 to protect the lower edge of the side panels 12 and these may be adjustableto vary the height of the top panel relative to the floor.

As can be seen from FIG. l, the front interconnecting panel 13 is secured to the top panel 11 by standard type butt hinges 15 whereby the front panel- 13 can be folded over the lower surface 16 of the top panel 11. The side panels 12 are each secured adjacent an end edge of the top panel .11 by a specially designed off-set hinges 17. Each off-set hinge 17 is formed of a connecting leaf plate 18 pivotally secured by means of pivot pin 19 to a right angle leaf plate 20. The leaf plate 20 has a spacer plate section 21 and a transverse connecting leaf plate 22. The hinges 17 are embedded in their respective panels with the pivot pin 19 located inside the side panels 12.

The abutting end edges of the top and side panels 11 and 12 have a flat surface which is angulated inwardly. An elongated interlocking corner joint 29 is formed by two elongated strip-like,

interlocking connectors

30 and 31 which are secured, respectively, to an abutting end edge of the top panel 11 and each side panels 12. Both

edge connectors

30 and 31 may be formed of hardwood, plastic or a suitable light metal. The male edge connector 30 is provided with a ridge portion 32 having a flat upper surface 33, a right angle edge 34 and an outwardly tapered edge 35. A cavity 36, of rectangular cross-section, is provided in the female connector 31 whereby to receive the ridge portion 32 of the male connector 30 in close contact therein whereby the top panel 11 may be interlocked with the side panels 12 to provide a rigid structure. The ridge portion 32 and the cavity 36 may extend entirely along the length of the

connector strips

30 and 31 or else may be provided at spaced apart intervals and in aligned relationship.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the side panel 12 is pivoted about a fulcrum provided by a pivot pin 19 and located outside the center axis 28 of the joint 29}. Thus, when the joint is separated, the tapered edge 35, located on the outward side of the joint, will permit arcuate displacement of the ridge portion 32 in and out of the cavity 36.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the: outward edge 27 of the

connectors

30 and 31 extend above the outer

planar surface

26 and 25 of the top and side panels, respectively. This extension protects the veneer layer (not shown) in the thin corners 24 of the panels 11 and side walls 63. This configuration provides a balance design to prevent warping or twisting of the strips as they are extruded. A wedge 64 is also extruded and secured to one of the connector strips, to form the male connector 30. The configuration of the wedge 64 will permit it to fit tightly between the cavities 62 when both

strip connectors

30 and 31 are in facial Contact, thus providing an interlock between the strips.

FIG. 4b shows a still further embodiment of a corner joint comprising two strip edge connectors 70. Hereinshown, each connector 70 is provided in one of its side surfaces with a ridge portion 71 and a cavity portion 72, located side-by-side. To form an interconnection between two strips, one of the strips has its ridge and cavity located in reverse configuration whereby when two interconnecting strips are brought in facial contact, the ridge portion 71 of one connector is received in the cavity portion 72 of the opposite connector. The ridge portion 71 is provided with a bevelled edge 73 to permit in and out arcuate movement between the interlocking ridge and cavity in both surfaces of the connectors 70. The outermost corner 74 of each connector 70 is rounded to provide a smooth edge. The other side surface 75 of each connector is flat to secure against the edge of the top and side panels, 11 and 12, to form the interlocking joint 29.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spacer plate section 21 is of sufficient width to permit the front panel 13 to be folded thereunder and clear the hinges. Also, it can be seen from FIG. 1 that the side panels 12 are rigidly connected to the front panel 13 by securing means 38 whereby the panel 13 is held vertically and all other panels locked in position.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6, there is shown one form of securing means 38 and herein comprising a known device in the art consisting of an elongated arresting pin 39 and a locking disc 40 constructed of plastic or other suitable material. The pin 39 is provided with a head 41 at one end thereof and a slotted aperture 42 adjacent the other end or locking end. The locking disc 40 comprises a circular front plate 43 having a slot 44 in the surface thereof for locking or unlocking the fastening means 38. Integrally formed and extending rearwardly of the plate 43 is an arcuate locking finger portion 44 having a circular outer edge concentric with the circumference of the plate 43 to define a shoulder portion 45. The inner edge 46 of the finger 44 is eccentrically displaced whereby to pull in the pin 39 as will be described later. The edge 46 is provided with a plurality of serrations 47 of V-shape crosssection to retain a wedged projection 48 provided in the forward end of the pin slot 42 transversely of the slot. The finger 44 is further provided with a peripheral slot 48 extending from its forward narrow end 49 to a distant position of the finger which is of progressively increasing width. Thus, there is formed an interlock finger portion 50 which is receivable within the pin slot 42 for interlocking engagement.

For assembly of the article of furniture 10, the

panels

11, 12 and 13 are positioned as shown in FIG. 1, with the front panel 13 extending vertically and the corner joints 29 interlocked to solidify the joints between the panels. An arresting pin 39 is positioned within a through bore 51 in the side panel 12 and enters a further bore hole 53 in the adjacent vertical edge of the front panel 13. The hole 53 extends diametrically to a circular bore cavity 52 in the rear surface of the front panel. The circumference of the cavity 52 is such as to receive the finger portion 44 of the disc 40 therein with the shoulder portion 45 resting on the rear surface of the panel 13 about the cavity 52. The front plate 43 has a marking (not shown) indicating the location of the throat area 54 which is sufficiently wide to receive the pin 39 therethrough. The throat area 54 must be in line with the hole 53 to permit entry of the pin 39 within the disc finger portion 44. By turning the disc clockwise and positioning the pin 39 with its slot extending vertically, the finger portion 50 will extend through the slot 42 and pull the pin 39 towards the disc causing the side panel 12 to abut against the vertical edge of the front panel 13 and rigidly interlocking both these panels together.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article of furniture can be converted into a desk by providing one or more pairs of spaced apart flanges 54 adapted to retain a drawer unit, shown by phantom lines 56, under the top panel 11. It is within the scope of the present invention to modify the shape and spacing of the panels or utilize other type of framework.

We claim:

1. An interlocking corner joint for an article of furniture comprising a first anda second interlocking connector strip secured to an edge of a respective one of two members hinged together to form a joint, said connectors being elongated strip-like edge connectors secured respectively to an angulated joint edge of said members and extending beyond the outer planar surface of its associated member to provide a protective edge along the interconnected outer edges of said members, one of said connectors being provided with an elongated ridge receivable in interlocking relationship in an elongated cavity in said other connector, said members being hinged to provide arcuate displacement of said first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of said corner joint whereby said members can be collapsed one on top of the other and in predetermined spaced apart relationship.

2. An article of furniture comprising a top member, at least two side members and an interconnecting memher, said interconnecting member being hinged to said top member and extending between said two side members, hinged means interconnecting each said side members to said top member adjacent a respective edge thereof, and securing means to interconnect said side members and said interconnecting member whereby to rigidly secure all of said members together, and an interlocking cornerjoint having a first and a second interlocking connector secured to a respective edge hinged together to form ajoint, said first and second connectors being elongated striplike edge connectors secured respectively to an angulated joint edge of said members and extending beyond the outer planar surface of its associated member to provide a protective edge along the interconnected outer edges of said members, one of said connectors being provided with an elongated ridge receivable in interlocking relationship in an elongated cavity in said other connector, saidmembers being hinged to provide arcuate displacement of said first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of said corner joint whereby said members can be collapsed one on top of the other and in predetermined spaced apart relationship.

3. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein all of said members are panels, said side panels being of substantially identical size and extending downwardly from said top panel at right angles thereof and parallel to each other, said interconnecting panel extending downwardly from said top panel and at right angles to said top and side panels.

4i. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3, wherein said hinge means is an off-set hinge comprising a connecting leaf plate pivotally secured to a right angle leaf plate, said right angle leaf plate having a spacer plate section and a transverse connecting leaf plate integral therewith and secured to said top panel, said spacer plate section and connecting leaf plate being positioned adjacent a top end edge and said side panel with said connecting leaf plate connected thereto.

5. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 4, wherein the width of said spacer plate section is at least as large as the thickness of said interconnecting panel whereby said interconnecting panel may be folded onto said top panel and each said side panel folded over said folded interconnecting panel.

6. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 5, wherein said connecting leaf plate is pivotally secured to said right angle leaf plate by a pivot pin, said pivot pin being located in a recess within its associated side panel, said off-set hinge being secured wherein an end edge of said top panel is located adjacent a top end edge of one of said side panels.

=l i K

Claims

1. An interlocking corner joint for an article of furniture comprising a first and a second interlocking connector strip secured to an edge of a respective one of two members hinged together to form a joint, said connectors being elongated striplike edge connectors secured respectively to an angulated joint edge of said members and extending beyond the outer planar surface of its associated member to provide a protective edge along the interconnected outer edges of said members, one of said connectors being provided with an elongated ridge receivable in interlocking relationship in an elongated cavity in said other connector, said members being hinged to provide arcuate displacement of said first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of said corner joint whereby said members can be collapsed one on top of the other and in predetermined spaced apart relationship.

2. An article of furniture comprising a top member, at least two side members and an interconnecting member, said interconnecting member being hinged to said top member and extending between said two side members, hinged means interconnecting each said side members to said top member adjacent a respective edge thereof, and securing means to interconnect said side members and said interconnecting member whereby to rigidly secure all of said members together, and an interlocking corner joint having a first and a second interlocking connector secured to a respective edge hinged together to form a joint, said first and second connectors being elongated striplike edge connectors secured respectively to an angulated joint edge of said members and extending beyond the outer planar surface of its associated member to provide a protective edge along the interconnected outer edges of said members, one of said connectors being provided with an elongated ridge receivable in interlocking relationship in an elongated cavity in said other connector, said members being hinged to provide arcuate displacement of said first and second connectors about a fulcrum located outside the center axis of said corner joint whereby said members can be collapsed one on top of the other and in predetermined spaced apart relationship.

4. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3, wherein said hinge means is an off-set hinge comprising a connecting leaf plate pivotally secured to a right angle leaf plate, said right angle leaf plate having a spacer plate section and a transverse connecting leaf plate integral therewith and secured to said top panel, said spacer plate section and connecting leaf plate being positioned adjacent a top end edge and said side panel with said connecting leaf plate connected thereto.