GB2165441A - An article of furniture having a rollable top - Google Patents

Abstract

An article of furniture in which the top is made from rolled steel slats (1) connected in parallel with one another by flexible hinges. This design facilitates the rolling of the top into a rectilinear configuration and thus it can be stored in a bag together with the folding or detachable legs (3). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An article of furniture and top therefor This invention reiates generally to a collapsible article of furniture and in particular to one in which the top surface can be rolled up.

In the past, tables have only been collapsible insofar as the legs were hinged so that they could be folded up against the top of the table. This, however, still left the rigid top of the table as it was, and required it to be stored or carried in that form. Some improved prior designs have endeavoured to make the rigid top a more convenient size by providing hinges in the top itself so that the table could be folded in half upon itself. While this form of construction could perhaps be suitable for small tables such as card tables, it is not practical for larger sized tables and, furthermore, cannot support any great degree of load.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an article of furniture having a flat top which, in use, is supported on a number of support frames, said support frames being connected together by a spacing means and each frame having leg members supporting a holding member which defines a surface on which said top rests, wherein said top is rollable and said frames are collapsible into parallel rectilinear lengths.

In order that the invention may more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a plan of a construction of table embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section through a member forming part of a leg orthe spacing memberofthe table; Figure 2A is a cross-section through one of the leg or spacing member closure strips; Figure 2B shows an alternative closure strip made from PVC; Figure 3 shows a leg terminal portion; Figure 4 shows a section through the cross-legs; Figure 5 is the spacing bar end piece; Figure 6 shows a particular type of nut used; Figures 7A-7B shows the assembly of the table; Figure 8 shows a section through a slat;; Figure 9 shows a holding member insert; Figure 10 shows how the leg hinge is used; Figure 11 shows a slat termination; Figure 12 shows how the slats are joined together; and Figure 13 shows a bag for holding the collapsible table.

In Figure 1, a table embodying the present invention can be seen. The top surface of the table is comprised of a number of slats 1 flexibly hinged together. The slats are supported at each end by a respective holding member (not shown in this Figure) which is in turn supported by a pair of legs 3.

In this embodiment, each leg 3 is made from thingauge rolled steel sections and provided with moulded polypropylene terminal portions 6. The shape of the component rolled steel sections are shown in Figures 2 and 2A. The section shown in Figure 2A serves the purpose of holding together the two flanges 3a and 3b to form a flattened cylinder. The flange holding section 3c can either be clipped on or slid on the flanges 3a and 3b and need not necessarily be made from rolled steel. An alternative material for such a section is shown in Figure 2B made from extruded PVC. Furthermore, it is not an essential requirement for the flanges to be made as shown, there being many other different designs that could serve the same purpose.

The main section of the leg is plastic coated to provide a protective covering and attractive finish.

Figure 3 shows an example of a terminal portion of the leg member suitable for use in this invention.

These terminations comprise a triangular shaped hollow head 6 attached to a hollow oblong section 8 which inserts into each end of the legs 3. A dimple 9 on each side of the insertable portion 8 corresponds to protruding portions on the leg member and serves to hold the terminations in place. Also provided on these terminal portions are a lug 10 and slot 11 on side 7, to provide part of the fixing means for fixing the holding members 2 to the legs of the table.

In this embodiment of the invention, each pair of legs is pivoted together at their mid point by a screw or pin 5 and a specially designed nut. The pivotal screw 5 passes through a washer 13 inserted in a hole drilled through the body of the legs. The specially designed nut screws onto the end of the screw and holds the legs together. This is shown in Figure 4.

The purpose of using a specific nut is to facilitate the easy and quick assembly of the table as will be described below.

In this particular design of table the spacing member 4 is formed in exactly the same way as the leg members. The ends of this member are also provided with polypropylene insertable end pieces.

An example of the type of end piece used is shown in Figure 5. Here the head 16 of an end piece is shaped so that it has a horseshoe like sleeve 15 which slides over the correspondingly shaped nut 12 mentioned above. Insertable portion 14 is provided with a dimple as with the leg terminal portions 6. Many alternative designs for the shapes of components can be envisaged and in other embodiments of the invention it is conceivable that the pin holding the legs together screws directly into the respective end pieces of the spacing member 4.

When the table is to be assembled, as shown in Figures 7A to 7D, the first step is to take each of the pairs of cross-legs and open them approximately to their correct angles. The legs are then connected together by sliding the head portions 16 of the insertable end pieces of the spacing bar 4 over the specially adapted nuts 12. On completion of this step a holding member 2 is fixed to the upper ends of each pair of pivoted legs.

These holding members 2 are also made of thin gauge rolled steel. A cross-section of one such member is shown in Figure 8. As with the leg sections, it is preferable to coat the rolled steel members in plastic. At each end of these members, a moulded polypropylene insert 18 is engaged.

These inserts 18 are provided with flexible flaps 19 and lugs 20 which are used to connect the holding members to the terminal portions 6 of the legs. As shown in Figure 10 the lugs 20 fit into the slots 11 and the flap 19 provided with the slot 21 folds over and is pressed on the lug 10.

After fixing the holding members 2 to the legs the table top can be rolled into position. As mentioned earlier, the top comprises slats 1 joined together.

These slats are made in an identical manner to the way in which the holding members 2 are made and are also provided with the polypropylene terminations which slide into each end. As shown in Figure 11 the terminations 22 are provided with lugs 23 to facilitate the joining of the slats together.

In Figure 12 an example of the hinge for use in the present invention can be seen. This hinge 24 is made of polypropylene and has two slots 25, one on each side of a central flexible portion. To join the slats together, one slot of the hinge 24 is pressed on one of the lugs 23 of one slat, while the other slot is pressed on the closest lug of the adjacent slat. This is repeated for all the slats so that a strip of hinges is produced to each end of the connected slats. Using separate hinges in this way, means that the number of slats to be connected can easily be varied to suit the particular size of table.

The slats 1 have to be longer than the spacing member 4 so that the slats have sufficient length to sit on the holding members 2 at each end of the table.

In this particular embodiment, the slatted table top is not attached to the holding members 2, the overhanging end slats as shown in Figure 1 providing sufficient stability. It is, however, conceivable that some type of removable fixing means can be provided to hold the top on firmly.

There are many advantages to the particular type of construction of table described -- most importantly the table can be assembled and disassembled quickly and easily and because of the roll top can readily fit into the type of bag shown in Figure 13. Furthermore, because of the non-rigid construction of the top the legs of the table can sit firmly on uneven ground.

The above description is only given for purposes of example and although a table has been described it is conceivable that the invention can be embodied in other articles of furniture. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that other particular aspects of the design can be envisaged while still remaining within the scope of the invention as claimed, e.g. the leg pieces need not be crossed but may form upright members braced with a cross strut for rigidity.

It will be appreciated that although steel is used for the various components of the table described above, other suitabie materials such as wood or a structural foam may instead be used.

Claims (24)

1. An article of furniture having a flat top which, in use, is supported on a number of support frames, said support frames being connected together by a spacing means and each frame having leg members supporting a holding member which defines a surface on which said top rests, wherein said top is rollable and said frames are collapsible into parallel rectilinear lengths.

2. An article of furniture according to claim 1, wherein said top comprises flexibly connected rolled steel slats.

3. An article of furniture according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the slats are provided with a respective moulded termination in each of its ends, said slats being connected together by a number of moulded hinges such that each of said hinges lies between and under two adjacent slat terminations and is releasably connected to said terminations by means of slots provided on said hinges, pressed over correspondingly shaped lugs provided on said slat terminations.

4. An article of furniture according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the legs of each frame are a pair of crossed legs.

5. An article offurniture according to claim 4, wherein each leg of the crossed pair of legs is formed by two interlocking longitudinally extending sections.

6. An article of furniture according to claim 5, wherein each of said leg sections is made from rolled steel.

7. A piece of furniture according to claim 5, wherein only one of the leg sections is made from rolled steel.

8. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein each of the ends of said legs is provided with a moulded terminal portion.

9. An article of furniture according to claim 8, wherein each of the terminal portions has a triangular head portion provided with a slot and a lug.

10. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein the holding member of each of said frames is made from rolled steel and is provided with a moulded insert at each of its ends.

11. An article of furniture according to claim 10, wherein the moulded inserts of said holding member are provided with lugs and a flexible flap having a slot, and wherein said legs are connected to said holding member by the slot in said flap being pressed over the lug of respective leg terminal portions and the lugs of said moulded insert pressed into said slot of said leg terminal portion.

12. An article of furniture according to any one of claims 4to 11, wherein each of the crossed pairs of legs is pivoted by a pin, held in place by a nut.

13. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein the spacing means is a member similar in construction to the legs.

14. An article of furniture according to claim 13, wherein the spacing member is provided with a respective moulded end piece at each of its ends.

15. An article of furniture according to claim 14, wherein each moulded end piece is shaped so as to be able to slide over respective nuts holding said pairs of cross legs together.

16. An article offurniture according to claim 14, wherein the pin pivoting the cross legs is insertable directly into a respective moulded end piece of said spacing member.

17. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein all the rolled steel components are covered in plastic.

18. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein all the moulded pieces are made from polypropylene.

19. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein the rollable top rests freely on said holding members.

20. An article of furniture according to claims 1 to 18, wherein the rollable top is removably held on said holding members.

21. An article of furniture according to any preceding claim, wherein the top is rolled, the frame members and spacing means are dismantled and all are stored in a bag.

22. A roll top for an article of furniture wherein the top is of a slatted construction and adjacent slats are held together by flexible hinges.

23. An article of furniture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

24. A roll top for an article of furniture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.