EP3818908A1

EP3818908A1 - Tip for furniture

Info

Publication number: EP3818908A1
Application number: EP20382959.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sergi Nolla Juan
Original assignee: Isc Plastic Parts SL
Current assignee: Isc Plastic Parts SL
Priority date: 2019-11-05
Filing date: 2020-11-05
Publication date: 2021-05-12
Also published as: ES2823400A1

Abstract

The tip for furniture comprises a body (1) and a base (2), and the tip is composed only of the body (1) and the base (2) and the base is press-fitted into said body (1), being the body (1) and the base (2) tiltable towards each other. Preferably, the body (1) comprises a ring (11) provided with a plurality of grooves (12), a stem (21) of said base (2) being housed in said ring (11).A tip is provided that allows it to be as standard as possible, avoiding as much as possible the realization of many molds, with the consequent savings that this implies.

Description

The present invention relates to a tip for furniture, in particular, to be placed at the lower end of chairs or tables.

Background of the invention

It is common to use tips in furniture, particularly in chairs and tables, to provide a metal tube forming a leg of the chair or table with a plastic tip for its finish and not to damage the floor to which the tube is exposed.
Conventionally, tips are formed by a body of plastic material that defines a coupling area and a base.
The coupling area is attached to the inside of, for example, the leg of a chair or table and the base is designed to be in contact with the floor and has features to provide the metal tube with a plastic finish its finish and not to deteriorate the floor to which the tube is exposed.
These conventional tips have the drawback that they are not adapted to different needs, since the base is made of the same material as the rest of the tip.
Multi-piece tips are also known, as described, for example, in EP 1 224 889 A1 .
The tip described in this document is made up of three parts: a mounting part, a support part and a base part.
The mounting part is fixed to a piece of furniture, for example to a chair leg, the base part is designed to be in contact with the floor and the support part is placed between the mounting part and the base part for their connection to each other.
The disadvantage of these tips made up of multiple pieces, depending on their application, the geometry of the body or the base change, involving the realization of many molds, which entails a significant investment. Also, the tip described in this document supports a narrow angle range.

Description of the invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tip that allows it to be as standard as possible, avoiding as much as possible the realization of many molds, with the consequent savings that this implies.
With the tip of the invention, the aforementioned drawbacks are solved, presenting other advantages that will be described below.
The tip for furniture according to the present invention comprises a body and a base, wherein the tip is composed solely of the body and the base and wherein the base is press-fitted into said body, the body and the base being tiltable to each other.
Advantageously, the body comprises a ring provided with a plurality of grooves, a stem of said base being housed in said ring.
To facilitate tilting and stable positioning between the body and the base, said base comprises a curved surface complementary to a curved flange of said body, said curved surface of the base preferably being arranged around said stem.
According to a preferred embodiment, said stem comprises a circular stop, which abuts the inner part of the ring when the body tilts to its maximum position with respect to the base.
To facilitate the coupling of the tip with furniture, for example with the leg of a chair, said body comprises a plurality of coupling projections.
Furthermore, the base preferably comprises a longitudinal through hole.
According to a preferred embodiment, said body is substantially cylindrical in shape and said base is disk-shaped, said stem projecting from it.
Although it can be made of any suitable material, said body is preferably made of low-density polyethylene.
According to a preferred embodiment, the stem comprises a curved outer wall.
The tip for furniture according to the present invention has, among others, the following advantages:

- Possibility of removing the base from the body manually, without the need of any tools, being quick and easy to remove and place.
- - The inclination of the tip is achieved thanks to the movement between the base and the body, which allows an exact adaptability both to the inclination of the furniture legs and to those situations where the position of the chair is modified, allowing a wide range of angles.
- Its integration with the tube in which it is housed is optimized, since it is minimally invasive and aesthetic.
- - It is aesthetically and functionally simple, as it has a geometry that is the same as conventional tips. This allows a better integration in the market, since its installation is the same as the traditional one as well as the geometry of the body compared to conventional tips.
- As it is made up of only two pieces, it can meet a large number of specifications, including adaptation to different thicknesses of the tube that forms the leg where the tip is placed. Under the same geometry, the base material can be altered in order to achieve different properties, which together with the possibility of adding complementary finishes and inserts such as felt, noise reducers, zamak, etc., allows covering a wide range of needs that could arise from the customer.
- The fact of using the body and different bases leads to maintaining reduced stocks, since the body is unique, and the base stocks will depend on the channel and / or the end customer.

Brief description of the drawings

For a better understanding of what has been stated, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only as a non-limiting example, a practical case of embodiment is represented.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the tip in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded sectional elevation view of the tip in accordance with the present invention
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the tip according to the present invention in its position of use, attached to a cover of a chair, being in its position without tilting; and
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the tip according to the present invention in its position of use, attached to a cover of a chair, being in its maximum tilting position.

Description of a preferred embodiment

As shown in the figures, the tip according to the present invention is made up of two elements that are press-fitted into each other: a body 1 and a base 2, which are tiltable relative to each other.
According to the embodiment shown, the body 1 is substantially cylindrical and comprises a ring 11 provided with a plurality of grooves 12, as shown in figure 1.
It should be noted that the ring 11 is flexible, so that it can be easily attached and removed by hand, without the need of tools.
Said ring 11 is used for coupling the body 1 with the base 2, as will be explained below.
The body 1 also comprises a plurality of coupling projections 13 for being coupled to a piece of furniture, for example, a leg 3 of a chair or table. Said coupling projections 13 have the shape of a circular tab and are sharp, in accordance with the embodiment shown.
Furthermore, the body 1 comprises a flange 14, whose function is to abut the lower end of the leg 3 and to contact the base 2, as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, and as will be explained below. To facilitate the tilting of the body 1 with respect to the base 2, said flange 14 comprises a curved surface.
Said body 1 is preferably made of low-density polyethylene, although it can be made of any suitable material.
For its part, base 2 is preferably disk-shaped and comprises a stem 21, which is inserted through said ring 11 of body 1 for snap-coupling between the base 2 and the body 1.
Said stem 21 comprises a stop 22, which preferably has a circular shape, which abuts the inner part of the ring 11 when the body 1 is tilted with respect to the base 2, as shown in figure 4.
To facilitate tilting, the side wall of said stem 21 is slightly curved, and the base 2 also comprises a curved surface 23 that contacts the flange 14, which is also curved, of the body 1.
As can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, the curved surface 23 is always in contact with the curved surface of the flange 14, either at two points (when it is not in the tilted position, Figure 3) or at one point (when it is in the tilted position, figure 4).
Furthermore, the base 2 comprises a through hole 24, as can be seen in the figures.
With the tip according to the present invention, the body 1 is as universal as possible, depending on the diameter of the cap where it is placed, and the base 2 can be adapted to the particular needs of the user, since it can be press-fitted into bodies 1 with different sizes.
To use the tip according to the present invention, it is simply necessary to couple the body 1 inside a leg 3 of a chair or table, as is currently done in a conventional manner, without using any tools.
Base 2 can be press-fitted before or after insertion of body 1 into leg 3, and can be attached and removed manually without the need of any tools.
If you want to replace the base 2, simply remove it manually and place another base 2, which may have other features, for example, it could be made of another material, using the same body 1.
Despite the fact that reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the tip for furniture being described is susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be substituted by others being technically equivalent, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Tip for furniture, comprising a body (1) and a base (2), characterized in that the tip is composed only of the body (1) and the base (2) and in that the base is press-fitted into said body (1), the body (1) and the base (2) being tiltable to each other.
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein the body (1) comprises a ring (11) provided with a plurality of grooves (12), a stem (21) of said base (2) being housed in said ring (11).
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein said base (2) comprises a curved surface (23) complementary to a flange (14) of said body (1).
Tip for furniture according to claims 2 and 3, wherein said curved surface (23) of the base (2) is arranged around said stem (21).
Tip for furniture according to claim 2, wherein said stem (21) comprises a stop (22), which abuts the inner part of the ring (11) when the body (2) tilts to its maximum position with respect to the base (2).
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein said body (1) comprises a plurality of coupling projections (13).
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein the base (2) comprises a longitudinal through hole (24).
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein said body (1) is substantially cylindrical in shape.
Tip for furniture according to claim 2, wherein said base (2) has the shape of a disc, said stem (21) projecting therefrom.
Tip for furniture according to claim 1, wherein said body (1) is made of low-density polyethylene.
Tip for furniture according to claim 2, wherein said stem (21) comprises a curved outer wall.