GB2027588A - Knock-down furniture - Google Patents

Abstract

A frame for a collapsible furniture unit, such as a wall unit, comprises four elongate upright members 1 to 4 and a plurality of parallel planar elements 5 to 9 which are pivoted to the upright members so that the frame can be adjusted between an upright condition, as shown in Fig. 1, in which the uprights are located at the corners of a rectangle, and a collapsed condition (as shown in Fig. 5) in which the members and elements lie substantially flat. Locking devices may be included, e.g. in the pivots, to retain the frame erected, or panels 10, 11 (which act as struts) can be inserted between the uprights 1, 4. Further panels (14, 15) can be fitted to the sides of the frame to improve its rigidity. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Furniture This invention relates to furniture and more particularly to collapsible furniture.

Collapsible furniture, often referred to as "knock-down" furniture, is becoming increasingly more popular since it allows considerable savings to be made on transportation and storage costs as well as being more convenient to handle when in the collapsed condition. Generally speaking knock down furniture is supplied to a customer in the form of several separate component parts which he then has to assemble into a furniture unit. The assembly procedure is sometimes complicated and does call for some skill on the part of the customer. All too frequently the customer is unable to complete the assembly and has to ask for assistance.

The present invention aims at providing a collapsible furniture unit which has all the advantages of knock-down furniture, but is very simple and straight forward to assemble from the collapsed condition.

The invention broadly resides in a frame for a furniture unit including four parallel elongated members, and a plurality of parallel, planar - elements so pivoted to the elongate members that the frame is adjustable between an erected condition in which the members are located at the corners of a rectangle, and the elements are normal to the members, and a collapsed condition in which the members and elements lie substantially flat.

When the frame is erected additional components can be inserted between the members to give the frame additional rigidity and make it self supporting. The additional components may be panels which can be held in place by attachment to the planar elements, for example through readily releasable connectors known per se and commonly referred to as "knock-down connectors".

The frame of the invention is ideally suited for wall units including shelves, cupboards etc. in which case the planar elements can form the shelves themselves as well as the tops and bottoms of the cupboards. However, the frame is not only suitable for wall units and may be used in a wide range of fumiture units of different types, such as wardrobe units, cupboards etc.

A free-standing wall unit embodying the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the erected unit; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the erected unit shown partly cut away; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the collapsed frame of the unit; Figure 5 is a front view of the collapsed frame; Figures 6 and 6A are cross-sectional views illustrating one possible construction for the upright members.

The free-standing wall unit illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 comprises four rigid upright members 1, 2, 3, 4 located at the corners of a rectangle. The upright members are tubular metal extrusions of square cross-section, but could alternatively be lengths of solid material, such as wood, or even a plastics extrusion filled, if necessary, to give it sufficient rigidity. Five vertically spaced apart horizontal panels 5 to 9, made for example of wood, chipboard or the like, are each supported at their four corners by the upright members 1 to 4.

Each panel has one end connected pivotally between the upright members 1, 2 at one side of the unit for pivotal movement about a first horizontal axis, and its other end pivoted between the upright members 3, 4 at the other side of the unit for movement about a second axis parallel to the first. The pivotal joints between the uprights and the panels can be made in any convenient manner. For example, the panels may be drilled and have bushes inserted for cooperation with screws which are passed through holes provided in the upright members.

The upright members 1 to 4 and the panels 5 to 9 together with the pivots interconnecting them constitute a basic frame ofthe wall unit, which can be folded substantially flat, as seen in Figures 3 and 4 and erected as seen in the other Figures.

Adjustment of the frame between the two conditions is very simple to perform since the only operation required is to move the upright members 1, 2 and 3, 4 together or apart sohat' the panels turn about their pivots.

Obviously when the frame structure is in the erected position it is unstable and for this reason additional components must be fastened to the frame in order to make it firm and rigid. In the illustrated unit face panels 10; 11 are fitted between the uprights 1 and 4 at the front of the unit, face panel 10 being at the top and face panel 11 at the bottom. The panels 10, 11 effectively act as struts which hold the uprights 1 and 4 apart to prevent them moving together and hence the frame collapsing flat. The panels are a close fit between the uprights 1, 4, but are fastened to the uppermost and lowermost panels 5, 9, respectively, to secure them in position.The connections between face panels 10, 11 and horizontal panels 5, 9 can be made by means of "knock-down" connectors 13, known per se, or by any other convenient means.

To give the frame some additional restraint against twisting side panels 14, 1 5 are fitted between the two uprights 1, 2 and 3, 4 at each side of the frame. The side panels 14, 1 5 which are a good close fit between the uprights are held in position by the two bottom panels 8, 9 to which they are fixed by knock-down connections 1 6. The side panels 14, 1 5 extend from the bottom of the uprights to the second panel 8 and serve to define with the panels 8 and 9 a cupboard whose back is closed by a panel 1 7 fixed in position in any convenient manner. Panel 17 is not required to give any strength or rigidity to the frame and can be a comparatively thin sheet. The front of the cupboard is shown open but could, for example, be closed by sliding doors which can be lifted out.

Panels 6 and 7 form horizontal shelves in the assembled unit.

The unit will normally be supplied to a purchaser with the frame collapsed and panels 10, 11,14, 15 and 17 separate and loose. To assemble the unit the frame is moved from the folded to the erect position. Face panels 10, 11 are then attached to the frame which will stabilise it in the erect position. The side panels 14, 1 5 are then fixed to the frame before the last panel 1 7 is finally secured in position. From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the assembly procedure is very simple and somewhat easier than constructing a similar unit from a large number of separate components. Because the frame folds substantially flat the wall unit is still easy to handle and economic to transport and store.

While the invention has been described as appiied to a wall unit it will be appreciated that the same principles can be used in a wide variety of different furniture items, such as wardrobes and cupboards.

Furthermore, the described furniture unit is open to modification and improvement. For example, in the above described embodiment additional components must be fastened to the erected frame to give it the necessary rigidity and the components are therefore essential and cannot be dispensed with. However, in a modified unit the collapsible frame may include one or more locking or friction devices, which could possibly be incorporated in the pivot assemblies, and which themselves ensure that the frame has sufficient rigidity, when erected, without the need for any separate components to be attached to it Referring now to Figures 6 and 6A, there is illustrated an alternative construction for the upright members 1 to 4.The member 21 shown in cross-section in Figure 6A is formed by wrapping around a sheet 22 (Figure 6) of chipboard, or other suitable material, laminated with PVC or other thermoplastic sheet material which may provide a wood grain, metal or coloured surface effect The sheet 22 has parallel V-shaped grooves 23 extending continuously along its length so that it produces a square, hollow section when it is wrapped around. It is possible for the hollow centre to be filled with a suitable material to improve the strength of the member.

If preferred, the elongate upright members can be made in sections which are connected end-toend. As the sections are hollow, such connections can be made conveniently by means of plugs which are inserted into the sections to be joined to extend across the join.

The wrap-around sections can be moulded to include configurations, such as grooves 24 shown in broken line in Figure 6A, for securing various components such as end panels, back panels or infill pieces, or merely to provide a decorative or architectural effect.

Claims (11)

1. A frame for a furniture unit, comprising four parallel elongated members, and a plurality of parallel, planar elements so pivoted to the elongate elements that the frame is adjustable between an erected condition in which the members are located at the corners of a rectangle and the elements are normal to the members, and a collapsed condition in which the members and elements lie substantially flat.

2. A frame according to claim 1 , wherein means is provided for selectively locking the elongate members against movement with respect to the planar elements for securing the frame in the erected condition.

3. A frame according to claim 2, wherein the locking means are incorporated in the pivots interconnecting the elongate members and planar elements.

4. A frame according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein each planar element is arranged to pivot about a first axis relative to one pair of elongate members and to pivot about a second axis parallel to the first axis relative to the other pair of elongate members, and at least one strut member is provided to be positioned between the pairs of elongate members for holding them apart when the frame is erected.

5. A frame according to claim 4, wherein releasable connectors are provided for securing the at least one strut member to a planar element.

6. A frame according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the at least one strut member consists of a panel member.

7. A frame according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein substantially planar panels are provided and are mountable with a close fit between the elongate members of each pair of member in the erected condition of the frame.

8. A frame according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate members are tubular.

9. A frame according to claim 8, wherein the elongate members are formed by wrapping around grooved plane pieces of suitable material.'

10. A frame according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the elongate members are provided with grooves or other configurations for connecting thereto components of the frame and/or the furniture unit.

11. A frame for a furniture unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accomDanvina drawinas.