GB2037577A - Support member - Google Patents

Abstract

A support member, e.g. a leg portion of a T.V. stand, has a skeleton (1) of relatively flexible material with a relatively rigid filler (5, 6) on it so that the filler braces the skeleton to provide a composite support having load bearing properties greater than those of the individual components. The skeleton comprises, e.g., mild steel strip and the filler may be balsa wood or plastics.

Description

SPECIFICATION Support member This invention relates to a support member.

In order to manufacture articles of furniture and the like which have to be load supporting it is necessary to weigh up the desired aesthetic appearance of the articles against the practicality of manufacture in that form. Thus, for example, if it is desired to produce a television stand in the form of a pair of inverted T-shaped members to be secured one at each side of a television base the stresses resulting may limit the choice of materials which can be used; for example it is unlikely that such a stand could be made of plastics material, but at the same time the use of stronger materials such as metal may affect the aesthetic appearance of the stand and greatly increase the cost of manufacture.

An object of this invention is to provide a support member which is cheap to manufacture and can be made in a wide range of materials.

According to the present invention there is provided a support member having a skeleton component of relatively flexible material, the skeleton having a relatively rigid filler material component held on it, thereby to provide for the resulting composite load-bearing properties in excess of those of the individual components.

The skeleton is preferably non-expandable and may be of thin metal, most preferably metal strip, for example mild steel strip which is cheap to buy and easy to shape into a desired skeletal configuration.

The ends of the strip may be interjoined by welding or other means so as to provide a skeleton in the form of a closed figure extending around the filler material; the filler material may then extend across the entire area bounded by the skeleton. The filler material may be in one piece or may be joined by a number of pieces bracing the skeleton.

Preferably the filler material is a lightweight substance such as wood, for example balsa wood, or lightweight plastics material, but generally the filler will be selected according to the finish which it can present to the support member so that the member will be as attractive as possible.

The combination of the skeleton and the filler produces an article which is rigid and which can support considerable loads even though these two components individually could not fulfil both requirements; the skeleton would flex while the filler may fracture.

The article can also be made from materials which are cheap to produce and work.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of a leg portion of a television stand of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 with the filler material removed for clarity; and Fig. 3 is a front view of the complete leg portion.

Referring to the drawings, a television stand has two leg portions each of which has a peripheral skeleton in the form of a mild steel strip 1 whose ends are welded together to make a closed structure generaliy in the shape of an inverted T. A pair of castors 2 are resistance welded to the strip 1 on its bottom edge and a U-channel bracket 3 is welded to the strip 1 along its top edge, the bracket 3 having two holes 4 drilled in each of its side walls to correspond with holes in a runner on the bottom face of a television set so that the set and stand can be secured together by pins or other fixing means.

Two T-shaped filler pieces 5,6 of balsa wood or lightweight plastic are disposed in face-to-face relation within the area bounded by the strip 1 to provide rigidity for the stand, the filler pieces 5,6 being fixed together at their inner faces with adhesive and each having an inward-facing flange 7 which abuts against the strip 1 to hold the filler pieces in position.

The filler pieces 5, 6 are apertured at 8 to receive a cross-member (not shown) for interconnecting the two leg portions of the stand in conventional manner. Both filler pieces 5, 6 have vertical grooves 9 formed in them for decoration.

The strip 1 on its own is too flexible to provide solid support for a television set and the filler pieces 5,6 have insufficient strength without the strip 1, but the combination of the strip 1 and filler pieces 5, 6 provides a rigid strong support which will easily bear the weight of the set. The individual components of the stand are inexpensive, and can be selected to give any of a wide variety of surface finishes; for this purpose the components may be surface treated by for example painting or dyeing or applying other types of coating, or patterned by the formation of grooves or other designs.

Modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A support member having a skeleton component of flexible material, the skeleton having a relatively rigid filler material component held on it thereby to provide for the resulting composite loadbearing properties in excess of those of the individual components.

2. A support member according to Claim 1, wherein the skeleton extends around the periphery of the filler material.

3. A support member according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the skeleton is non-expandable.

4. A support member according to Claim 3, wherein the skeleton is of metal.

5. A support member according to Claim 1,2,3 or 4, wherein the filler material is selected from wood and plastics materials.

6. A support member substantially as hereinbe fore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Support member This invention relates to a support member. In order to manufacture articles of furniture and the like which have to be load supporting it is necessary to weigh up the desired aesthetic appearance of the articles against the practicality of manufacture in that form. Thus, for example, if it is desired to produce a television stand in the form of a pair of inverted T-shaped members to be secured one at each side of a television base the stresses resulting may limit the choice of materials which can be used; for example it is unlikely that such a stand could be made of plastics material, but at the same time the use of stronger materials such as metal may affect the aesthetic appearance of the stand and greatly increase the cost of manufacture. An object of this invention is to provide a support member which is cheap to manufacture and can be made in a wide range of materials. According to the present invention there is provided a support member having a skeleton component of relatively flexible material, the skeleton having a relatively rigid filler material component held on it, thereby to provide for the resulting composite load-bearing properties in excess of those of the individual components. The skeleton is preferably non-expandable and may be of thin metal, most preferably metal strip, for example mild steel strip which is cheap to buy and easy to shape into a desired skeletal configuration. The ends of the strip may be interjoined by welding or other means so as to provide a skeleton in the form of a closed figure extending around the filler material; the filler material may then extend across the entire area bounded by the skeleton. The filler material may be in one piece or may be joined by a number of pieces bracing the skeleton. Preferably the filler material is a lightweight substance such as wood, for example balsa wood, or lightweight plastics material, but generally the filler will be selected according to the finish which it can present to the support member so that the member will be as attractive as possible. The combination of the skeleton and the filler produces an article which is rigid and which can support considerable loads even though these two components individually could not fulfil both requirements; the skeleton would flex while the filler may fracture. The article can also be made from materials which are cheap to produce and work. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of a leg portion of a television stand of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 with the filler material removed for clarity; and Fig. 3 is a front view of the complete leg portion. Referring to the drawings, a television stand has two leg portions each of which has a peripheral skeleton in the form of a mild steel strip 1 whose ends are welded together to make a closed structure generaliy in the shape of an inverted T. A pair of castors 2 are resistance welded to the strip 1 on its bottom edge and a U-channel bracket 3 is welded to the strip 1 along its top edge, the bracket 3 having two holes 4 drilled in each of its side walls to correspond with holes in a runner on the bottom face of a television set so that the set and stand can be secured together by pins or other fixing means. Two T-shaped filler pieces 5,6 of balsa wood or lightweight plastic are disposed in face-to-face relation within the area bounded by the strip 1 to provide rigidity for the stand, the filler pieces 5,6 being fixed together at their inner faces with adhesive and each having an inward-facing flange 7 which abuts against the strip 1 to hold the filler pieces in position. The filler pieces 5, 6 are apertured at 8 to receive a cross-member (not shown) for interconnecting the two leg portions of the stand in conventional manner. Both filler pieces 5, 6 have vertical grooves 9 formed in them for decoration. The strip 1 on its own is too flexible to provide solid support for a television set and the filler pieces 5,6 have insufficient strength without the strip 1, but the combination of the strip 1 and filler pieces 5, 6 provides a rigid strong support which will easily bear the weight of the set. The individual components of the stand are inexpensive, and can be selected to give any of a wide variety of surface finishes; for this purpose the components may be surface treated by for example painting or dyeing or applying other types of coating, or patterned by the formation of grooves or other designs. Modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. CLAIMS

1. A support member having a skeleton component of flexible material, the skeleton having a relatively rigid filler material component held on it thereby to provide for the resulting composite loadbearing properties in excess of those of the individual components.

2. A support member according to Claim 1, wherein the skeleton extends around the periphery of the filler material.

3. A support member according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the skeleton is non-expandable.

4. A support member according to Claim 3, wherein the skeleton is of metal.

5. A support member according to Claim 1,2,3 or 4, wherein the filler material is selected from wood and plastics materials.

6. A support member substantially as hereinbe fore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.