EP0284038A1

EP0284038A1 - Modular means for the exhibition, cataloguing and figurative prearrangement of furniture and accessories with immediate reading of the price list

Info

Publication number: EP0284038A1
Application number: EP88104642A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ernesto Tagliabue; Adelio Tagliabue
Original assignee: Tagliabue Di Ernesto & Adelio SNC
Current assignee: Tagliabue Di Ernesto & Adelio SNC
Priority date: 1987-03-26
Filing date: 1988-03-23
Publication date: 1988-09-28
Also published as: IT1203847B; IT8719869A0

Abstract

A plurality of figures cut along the edges representing furniture, e.g. cupboards (1), desks (2), brackets (3), bookcases (4), chairs (5), beds (7) and others like armchairs, sofas, furniture for dining-rooms, living-rooms, kitchens and similar, represented in perspective view, are positioned on planes (8), without any representation or reproducing perspective views of interiors, to reproduce, also in detail, the possible furnishing solutions and immediately obtain an economic evaluation of same.

Description

The invention concerns modular means for the exhibition, cataloguing and figurative prearrangement of furniture and accessories, comprising some planes, possibly representing interiors in perspective view and the plurality of figures of furniture, e.g. cupboards, beds, desks, bookcases, sofas, modular furniture for kitchens, tables, chairs and similar and plurality of figures representing furnishing accessories, e.g. lamps, lampshades, small tables, flower-boxes, paintings and similar, all in perspective view compatible with those representing the interiors. Said plurality of figures of furniture and furnishing accessories, contoured according to their peripheral profiles being applicable as required on said planes, free or representing interiors, to represent selected series and types of articles or combine complete images of furniture, according to pre-establishes choices of furniture accessories.
Very often the people intending to purchase furniture to furnish their homes roam from one supplier to another to find what they consider most suited to their tests then find it difficult to make the final choice as they are unable to imagine the real effect this furniture may have once installed. For this reason, in fact, many people are rather disappointed over the effective result of their choices. To prevent this, many furniture constructors and users at present tend to take the advice of furnishers and architects, who, experts in the field, examine the rooms to be furnished, seek information on the customer's tastes and needs, analyse catalogues of furniture producers and express their ideas and hints on accurate sketches and drawings, showing the rooms in question completely furnished with furniture, paintings, carpets, vases of flowers, ornaments, plants, lamps and lampshades etc. In this way users are certainly facilitated in their choice of furniture and have the certainty that the real result will be at the height of the images received through the work of their experts, but all this is decidedly expensive and many users cannot afford it.
Besides what has been described above, the buyer does not always realize the total cost of the furniture he has chosen. Catalogues are generally used which show a range of furniture, which, according to the dimensions, type and recommended quality, give evaluations that are not always correct and within the buyer's reach. On the transferable figures forming part of this invention a code number is indicated, which reflects the price of the furniture completion (per 1000).
In this way the buyer, besides having an idea of the proposed environment, can immediately evaluate its cost and will be certain of not making evaluation errors or other. Besides the price code indicated in the figure, it also indicates the measurements of the module (height, depth, length). The object of this invention is to solve the above problems. The invention, as characterized by the claims, solves the problem by means of moduler means for the exhibition, cataloguing and figurative prearrangement of the furniture and furnishing accessories, with which the following results are obtained: the production of furniture of each supplier is reproduced in small figures in scale and perspective view, cut to be able to be supported and made adhere to free planes or representing perspective views of interiors, furniture and accessories, in the form of small cut figures, are in perspective view compatible with the perspective of any representations of interiors reproduced on said planes. On the transferable figure of the furniture, the overall dimensions are also indicated.
The advantages of this invention mainly consist in the fact that on said planes all the furniture prechosen by a customer can be positioned to form a real personal catalogue, possibly indicating all necessary information, e.g. the serial number, the price code per 1000, the type of wood and materials, the dimensions, quantity, pieces etc. Said compositions can easily be photocopied to form the visual documents of the choices made and/or of any agreements between buyers and suppliers. For example, if the customer places an order, the salesman makes three photocopies, one for the customer (as copy order), one for the customer's own file, one for the manufacturer of the furniture for the small bedroom or room: the third photocopy serves as work order. There is therefore no possibility of errors in ordering, sizes, quantity etc.
Another advantage is that on said planes reproducing interiors, suppliers can prepare directly, or in collaboration with customers, assmebly sketches showing complete furnishings to suit the requirements and tastes of these customers, who can thus immediately imagine the real effect of their choices and the expenses they must meet, equally to what is presently done by furnishers and architects at decidedly higher costs and in must longer times.
The invention is described in greater detail below, referring to the enclosed drawings, in which:

figures 1 to 8 show different furniture in perspective view, e.g. cupboards, desks, brackets, bookcases, chairs, flower-boxes and beds, cut along their sides, each forming a small figure that can be moved and placed as required on any position of a supporting plane; and
figure 9 shows, in particular, the surface of a supporting plane on which the perspective view of an interior can be reproduced.

The figures illustrate modular means for the exhibition, cataloguing and figurative prearrangement of furniture and accessories with the relevant costs, comprising some figures, cut along their sides, representing cupboards 1, desks 2, brackets 3, bookcases 4, chairs 5, flower-boxes 6, beds 7 and any other furnishing object, e.g. armchairs, sofas, small tables, tables, lamps, lampshades etc., and comprising some planes 8 on which nothing or an interior in perspective view is represented. The planes 8 are preferably constructed with a sheet of magnetic material or other: adhesive, wedged, drilled etc., while all the figures 1...7 and others are obtained from sheets of magnetic material or other (adhesive, wedged etc.).
The surfaces of planes 8 and all figures are preferably silk-screen processed with the corresponding images. Alternatively, again as an example, the supporting planes 8 can be constructed with small metal sheets and all the figures provided with small magnets, or composed of magnetic material, or the supporting planes can consist of surfaces covered in small holes in which the pins projecting from the rear part of the figures are engaged.
In other different solutions of this invention, figures 1...7 and others, representing furniture and accessories, can be obtained from geometrical designs of forms in perspective view or even from photographs, on which any serial numbers, prices, sizes or codes referring to catalogues of various producers and similar can be indicated. In said modular means, which are preferably stored in containers and/or in cases with compartments, divided by type of furniture, style of furniture, accessories, type of production etc., they are used on each occasion to facilitate their composition and combinations in furnishing solutions, according to the production at suppliers' disposal and the desires, tastes and needs of users who need to furnish one room or more. For example, on plane 8 in fig. 9, which shows the perspective view of an interior, with the placing of various cut figures 1...7 or others, different furnishing solutions can be adopted for the same room, permitting an easier, safer basic choice, possibly also of the type and colour of the floors 9, of the teaming of the lamps, carpets, curtains etc. To facilitate all this, among the figures forming the accessories, or forming those parts in the room not comprised among the furniture, are present also doors, windows, curtains, carpets, paintings, vases and similar, so that, in each composition, the rooms to be represented on planes 8 are as near as possible to the real ones. Alternatively, the same compositions can be made on planes 8 without any representation of interiors; in these cases the overall dis play of the furniture is obviously less effective, but can be sufficient to give a general idea of the choice of the preferred furniture and the subsequent immediate economic evaluation.
Besides encouraging the search for optimal furnishing solutions, these possibilities may be of great help also from the commercial point of view for the stipulation of contracts of purchase and sale between customers and suppliers. The compositions made with the above procedures can be easily reproduced with photocopying machines and the copies obtained are a suitable documentation for commercial annotations of models, prices, payments, discounts and similar, and for promemoria on the furniture chosen, its disclocation into rooms, accessories useful and/or indispensable to obtain the required furnishing effects.

Claims

1) Modular means for the exhibition, cataloguing and figurative prearrangement of furniture and furnishing accessories, characterized by the fact of comprising one or more planes (8) on which a plurality of single figures (1), (2)... 7 and others are placed, according to any preferred distribution, cut along their peripheral edges and represented in perspective view, to consent the immediate display of the cost and relevant overall dimensions.

2) Modular means according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the supporting planes (8) are without any representation.

3) Modular means according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that images of interiors, in perspective view, are represented on the supporting planes (8), possibly complete with floors of different type and colour.

4) Modular means according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the plurality of figures cut along their peripheral edges represent cupboards (1), desks (2), brackets (3), bookcases (4), chairs (5), beds (7) and also armchairs, easy-chairs, furniture for dining-rooms, living-rooms, kitchens, tables, small tables, windows etc.

5) Modular means according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that among the figures cut along their peripheral edges are comprised the representations of furnishing accessories like flower-boxes, paintings, vases, lampshades, lamps, carpets, doors, windows etc.

6) Modular means according to claims 1, 3, 4 and 5, characterized by the fact that on the figures cut the furniture and accessories are represented, with drawings and photographs, in perspective view, compatible with those represented on the planes (8).

7) Modular means according to claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that the supporting planes (8) are constructed with sheets of magnetic material and the figures with thin metal sheets.

8) Modular means according to claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that the supporting planes (8) are constructed with sheets of metal plate and the figures provided with small magnets or constructed with magnetic material.

9) Modular means according to claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that the supporting planes (8) are provided with a plurality of small holes in which some small pins projecting from the rear parts of the figures are engaged.

10) Modular means according to claims 1 to 9, characterized by the fact of being comprised in containers or small cases with compartments.

11) Modular means according to claims 1 to 10, characterized by the fact that the compositions formed by figures (1), (2)...(7) placed on the supporting planes (8), with or without representations of interiors, are reproducible with photocopying machines or similar.