GB2397515A

GB2397515A - A set of modular furniture units

Info

Publication number: GB2397515A
Application number: GB0301460A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Douglas Corson Anwyl; Matthew Benjamin Wood
Original assignee: HANUMAN SOLUTIONS Ltd
Current assignee: HANUMAN SOLUTIONS Ltd
Priority date: 2003-01-22
Filing date: 2003-01-22
Publication date: 2004-07-28
Also published as: GB0301460D0

Abstract

A set of furniture units (1, 2, 5, 9, 12 and 14) is disclosed. Each unit has a configuration that comprises at least one substantially identical regular polyhedron. Each unit comprising at least two polyhedrons is formed such that adjacent faces of adjacent polyhedrons are in a face-to-face relationship. Each unit has a number of exterior faces that define the exterior surface of that unit. The units (1, 2, 5, 9, 12 and 14) are arrangeable to provide a plurality of items of furniture, such as a stool (1), a chair (5), a bench (12), a table (14), and a sofa (15, 16 and 17). Each item of furniture is defined by one or more of the units, and each item of furniture is constituted by two or more units having each pair of adjacent faces of adjacent units in a face-to-face, substantially contiguous, relationship.

Description

1 2397515 A Set of Modular Furniture Units The present invention relates

to a set of modular furniture units where each unit has a solid shape that comprises a number of regular polyhedrons. Each unit can be used as an item of furniture, or some or all of the units can be arranged together to provide various items of furniture.

Modern residential accommodation tends to be smaller than its older counterpart. In this environment space is at a premium. Modern usage of office is versatile. The furniture used in such an environment often needs to have more than one use.

Therefore, furniture used in both of these environments needs to use the space efficiently and flexibly.

l o meet these requirements, furniture is often designed so that it can be easily stored in a compact space when the furniture is not in use. Alternatively, the furniture is designed to have more than one use to allow the furniture to be used more frequently than if it only had one use.

A common design of stacking chair allows the chairs to be placed on top of each other.

The stacking is compact to provide an efficient use of storage space. However, this design of furniture only has one use: as a chair. Chairs made to this design have no alternative use and when not in use can only be stacked for storage.

Another common design of furniture is a modular sofa, which comprises units that may be placed side-by-side to form a sofa, or may be placed individually to provide an easy chair. Although the units can be lightweight, enabling the units to be moved to change the use of the room within which they are placed, the units cannot be stored together in a compact space, and they are intended only for use together as sofas, or individually as chairs.

A further common design of furniture is a sofa bed. It is arranged to allow a sofa to be manipulated into a bed, and vice versa. A sofa bed can only be used for one of these purpose at a time: it is always either a sofa or a bed. Also, a sofa bed is not designed to be stored compactly.

Not one of these three designs provides furniture that has many uses, that can be stored compactly, and that comprises of several units that can be used as furniture individually or when arranged together.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a set of furniture units that can be arranged together to provide items of' furniture of various uses and for compact storage of the set of furniture units.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a set of furniture units, wherein each unit has a configuration that comprises at least one substantially identical regular polyhedron, wherein each unit comprising at least two polyhedrons is formed such that adjacent faces of adjacent polyhedrons are in a f'ace-to-t'ace relationship, each unit having a number of exterior faces that define the exterior surface of that unit, and wherein the units are arrangeable to provide a plurality of items of furniture, each item of furniture being defined by one or more of the units, and each item of furniture constituted by two or more units having each pair of adjacent faces of adjacent units in a face-to-face, substantially contiguous, relationship.

Preferably, each regular polyhedron is a rhombohedron. More preferably, each rhombohedron is a cube. Advantageously, therefore, the units comprising the set are arrangeable with each other to provide a plurality of items of furniture.

Preferably, at least one unit of the set of unit is a monocube, at least one unit is a tricube, at least one unit is a tetracube, and at least one unit is an octacube.

Preferably, each unit has is coded by means of the appearance of its surface to indicate the configuration of that unit, such as by means of the exterior surface colour of that unit. The coding advantageously allows the configuration of a unit to be identified whilst the units are arranged together to provide an item of furniture, or part of the unit is obscured.

Preferably, the coding is such that: A) a yellow exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the monocube unit is a monocube; B) a blue exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the monocube unit is an I,-shaped tricube; C) a purple exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a linear tetracube; D) an orange exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a T- shaped tetracube; E) a green exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is an L-shaped tetracube; and F) a red exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a cubic octacube.

Advantageously, the units are arrangeable in a compact arrangement for storage.

Preterably, the compact configuration formed by an arrangement of the units provides a wall, the wall being at the most two regular polyhedrons wide. Advantageously, therefore, the set of units can be arranged compactly for storage when the set is not in use or for transportation of the set.

Preferably, the height of each regular polyhedron is from 30 cm to 60 cm. The interior of each unit is made from a foam material. Preferably the interior ol the each unit is covered with a fire-retaraent, hard wearing and cleanable covering. Advantageously, therefore, each unit is suitable for use as an item of furniture.

Advantageously, an item of furniture can comprise at least one unit, the unit comprising a part of the set of furniture units as described previously. Furthermore, an item of furniture that comprises at least two units has the units arranged such that adjacent faces of the adjacent units are in a face-to-i'ace, substantially contiguous, relationship to provide secure engagement between the units. Therefore, a table, or a seat, can be arranged using at least one unit; a sofa or a bed can be provided by arranging at least two units.

Embodiments of the set of modular furniture units are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figures I A and I B are a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a first form of I O unit; Figures 2A and 2B are a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a second form of unit; Figures 3A and 3B are a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a third form of unit; Figures 4A and 4B are a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a fourth form of unit; Figures 5A and 5B are a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a filth form of unit; Figures 6A and 6B arc a plan view and perspective view, respectively, of a sixth form of unit; Figures 7A and 7B are perspective views of an arrangement of the units of Figures I to 6 with each unit shown respectively shaded and in outline, the arrangement providing a first form of storage arrangement; Figures 8A and 8B are perspective views of an arrangement of the units of Figures 1 to 6 with each unit shown respectively shaded and in outline, the arrangement providing a

sold and a table;

Figures 9A and 9B are perspective views of an arrangement of the units of Figures I to 6 with each unit shown respectively shaded and in outline, the arrangement providing a second form of storage arrangement; Figures IOA and lOB are perspective views of an arrangement of the units of Figure I to 6 with each unit shown respectively shaded and in outlines the arrangement providing a sofa; Figures I I A and I I B are is perspective views of an arrangement of the units of Figure I to 6 with each unit shown respectively shaded and in outline, the arrangement providing a sofa, a table, a seat and some stools, which together form a seating arrangement

around a table; and

Figure 12 is a key to Figures 7A to I la to indicate the location of each unit within each arrangement shown.

Relerring to the drawings, Figures 1A and IB show a monocube 1. The monocube I can be used as an item of furniture, such as a stool or a footstool.

Figures 2A and 2B show another unit, an L-shaped tricube 2, comprising three cubes (hereinafter referring to as "base cubes") of the same size as the monocube 1. The adjacent faces of the base cubes are in a face-to-face relationship to provide the configuration of the tricube 2. The tricube 2 can be used as an item of furniture: standing on one of its exposed domino faces 3 to provide a backed chair; or, standing on one of its trionimo faces 4, as shown in Figure 2B, to provide a bench or a large stool.

A high-backed chair is provided by placing an L-shaped tetraeube 5, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, on its exposed domino face 6. Also, the tetraeube 5 can be placed on one of its tetromino faces 7 to provide a bench or a seat without a back. Further, the tetraeube 5 can be placed on its triomino face 8 to provide a chair with a long seat. This tetracube 5, like all other tetracubes, has a configuration comprising four base cubes arranged in face-to-face relationships.

Another tetracube is a T-shaped unit 9, as shown in Figures 4A and 4B. When the unit 9 stands on one tetromino surface 10, the unit provides a bench, or an unbacked seat.

When the unit 9 is placed on its triomino surface 11, the unit provides two backed chairs placed back-to-back.

Figures 5A and 5B show a linear tetracube 12, which provides a bench when it is placed on one of its tetromino surfaces 13.

A cubic octacube unit 14, shown in Figures 6A and 6B, has a configuration that comprises eight base cubes arranged so as to provide a cube whose edge dimension is twice that of each base cube. The octacube unit 14 provides a large unbacked seat.

Alternatively, this unit 14 can be used as a table, as shown in Figures 8 and 11.

The units described can be used together in various arrangements to provide other items of furniture, such as, by way of example, sofas and backed benches IS, 16 and 17 (see Figures 8, 10 and 11) of various designs. In those arrangements, the units are held ]O together, once they are placed together, by the influence of gravity and a frictional interaction between the contiguous surfaces of adjacent units, as a result of the face-to-face relationship of adjacent faces of the units.

In the preferred embodiment, the set comprises one octacube unit 14, two monocubes 1, two L-shaped tetracubes 2, two T-shaped tetracubes 9, and two linear tetracubes 12.

The arrangements shown in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are arrangements that use all of the units of the eleven piece set. The length of a side of each base cube is 40 cm.

As referred to above, the units of the set can be arranged to provide sofas of various designs. A first form of sofa 15, shown in Figure 8, uses all the units except the octacube unit 14 to make the sofa, the octacube unit being used a table 21. A second form of sofa, a corner sofa 16, is shown in Figure 10, in which all of the units are used to provide two sofas units 22 arranged ninety degrees in relation to each other, with a coffee table 23 in the corner linking the two sofa units.

A third form of sofa 17 uses only some of the units, as shown in Figure 11, the remainder of the units being used for other items of furniture. Thus, the monocube units I are used as stools, the linear tetracube units 12 are used as benches, the tricube unit 2 is used as a simple chair, and the octacube unit 14 is used as a table. This arrangement provides a variety of seats set around a table, and is a suitable arrangement of furniture for use in holding an informal discussion.

The arrangements of units, shown in Figures 8, 10 and 11 are a small number of examples of the many types of arrangement that can be achieved by using the units individually or collectively to provide items of furniture.

The sofa arrangements 15, 16, and 17 each comprise different integral parts of a number of units being in perpendicular planes of the arrangement, such as the arms 27, the back 29 and the seat 31 of each sofa. Each of the sofas 15, 16 and 17 comprises two such perpendicular planes, where each of those planes has different integral parts of the same unit. This feature is preferable, but not essential, to hold together an item of furniture that comprises more than one unit, particularly when the item of furniture is set away from a wall.

For storage, the units can be stored compactly, for example in a cupboard or against a wall. Two specimen storage arrangements 20 and 25 of the units are shown in Figures 7 and 9. Figure 7 shows the storing arrangement 20 which is placed on one side 18 of the arrangement. The storage arrangement 20 is the height of four base cubes, the length of six base cubes and the width of two base cubes. The arrangement is one of the most compact arrangements ot'the units. However, when stacked against a wall, it protrudes from the wall by two base cubes. Figure 10 shows the storage arrangement 25 which, except for the octacube unit 14, is one base cube wide. This arrangement 25 enables the units to be stacked against a wall, without covering a large area of floor space or protruding far away from the wall. However, it may be too high for some users, for whom the storage arrangement 20 may be easier to use. As the set has at least two storage arrangements, the set provides flexibility in its use, even in storage.

The storage arrangements also permit the complete set to fit into a standard sized van, such as a transit or transporter van, for transportation of the set.

As can be seen from the Figures 1 to 12, each different configuration of unit has a different surface colour: moncubes 1 are yellow; tricubes 2 are blue; L-shaped tetracubes 5 are green; '1'-shaped tetracubes 9 are orange; linear tetracubes are purple; and the octacube 14 is red. This colour code is a preferred colour code.

1'hc covering of the units is made from a llame-retardant, hard-wearing, cleanable fabric. In the preferred embodiment, the covering is a brightlycoloured wool mix. The filling of the units is made from a material that is lightweight, so the units can easily be moved and manipulted into the various arrangements of units and items. The material is also easily shaped during manufacture into the required configurations of unit. Further, the material is durable, so that the units can withstand regular use as furniture and regular manipulation for arrangement with other units to provide various items of furniture. In the preferred embodiment the filling is foam.

In the manufacture of each unit, the foam is cut to the exact dimensions of the each unit to provide an exact fit between the units when the units are arranged together. The covering is placed around the foam of each unit in a tight-fitting manner. Each covering comprises a zip, enabling the covering to be placed securely around the foam, and the covering to be removed from the unit for cleaning, repair and replacement.

The set of units is suited to various environments. As the units are brightly coloured, cleanable and lightweight, and the set is versatile, the units are suited for use in a children's nursery or a primary school. The set of units is also suited for a business environment, for informal meetings and to allow the environment in which the units are used for various forms of client entertainment. A further suitable use of the set of units is in the leisure market, such as a club. The units can be set out in an environment to provide, for example, an arrangement suitable for holding informal conversations, as well as to provide a compact storage arrangement so the environment can be cleared, providing a dance floor, for example.

The above description relates to the preferred embodiment. The arrangements of the units of the pref'enred embodiment demonstrate that the individual items of furniture can, in tuna, be arranged with other items of furniture created from set of units to provide various arrangements of furniture within the environment in which the set of units are used to make el'ficient use of the space in that environment. Each such arrangement is suited to a different purpose, whether suitable for use in holding an informal discussion, as a two-piece suite 16, or a bed, or even for storage.

The advantages of the invention are not just restricted to the preferred embodiment.

Modifications can be made which provide embodiments exhibiting the advantages of the preferred embodiment. For example, the unit can be provided in sets comprising any number of units, preferably of four or seven units. Alternatively, the units can be provided individually.

The sets can also comprise dil'ferent numbers of different configurations of units, other than those of the preferred embodiment. The unit can also have configuration other than the polycubes described in the preferred embodiment, such as diacubes, pentacubes, hexacubes and so on. Also, other polyhedrons can form the base shape, such as, for example, rhombohedrons or tetrahedrons instead of a cube. These other base shapes would provide further unit cont'igurations.

The size of the base shape used in the units makes the units suitable for use as furniture.

Preferably, the height of each base shape is from 30 to 60 cm Any colour code, or indeed pattern surface marking code or other choice of external feature as a code, can be used so long as the coding is consistently used in a set. It is also intended that the coding is extended upon the introduction of differently configured units.

The sets of units can therefore be designed according to customised specifications, enabling the set to provide different arrangements to meet particular spatial or functional requirements.

Claims

Claims 1. A set of furniture units, wherein each unit has a configuration

that comprises at least one substantially identical regular polyhedron, wherein each unit comprising at least two polyhedrons is formed such that adjacent faces of adjacent polyhedrons are in a face-to-face relationship, each unit having a number of exterior faces that define the exterior surface of that unit, and wherein the units are arrangeable to provide a plurality of items of furniture, each item of furniture being defined by one or more of the units, and each item of lO furniture constituted by two or more units having each pair of adjacent faces of adjacent units in a face-to-face, substantially contiguous, relationship.
2. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 1, wherein each regular polyhedron is a rhombohedron.
3. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 2, wherein each rhombohedron is a cube.
4. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one unit is a monocube.
5. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one unit is a tricube.
6. A set of furniture units as claimed in any one of claim 3 to 5, wherein at least one unit is a tetracube.
7. A set of furniture units as claimed in any one of claim 3 to 6, wherein at least one unit is an octacube.
8. A set of furniture units as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each unit has is coded by means of the appearance of its surface to indicate the configuration of that unit.
9. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 8, wherein the configuration of each unit is coded by means of the exterior surface colour of that unit.
10. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 9, wherein: A) a yellow exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the monocube unit is a monocube; B) a blue exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the monocube unit is an L-shaped tricube; C) a purple exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a linear tetracube; D) an orange exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a T-shaped tetracube; L) a green exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is an L-shaped tetracube; and F) a red exterior surface colour indicates the configuration of the unit is a cubic octacube.
11. A set of furniture units as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the units are arrangeable in a compact arrangement for storage.
1 2. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 11, wherein the compact configuration formed by an arrangement of the units provides a wall, the wall being at the most two regular polyhedrons wide.
13. A set of furniture units as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the height of each regular polyhedron is from 30 cm to 60 cm.
14. A set of furniture units as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the interior of each unit is made from a foam material.
15. A set of furniture units as claimed in claim 14, wherein the foam that provides the interior of the each unit is covered with a fre- retardent, hard wearing and cleanable covering.
16. A unit comprising a part of the set of furniture units as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit can be used as an item of furniture.
17. An item of furniture that comprises at least one unit, the unit comprising a part of the set of furniture units as claimed in any one of claims I to 15.
18. An item of furniture that comprises at least two units, the units comprising part of the set of furniture units as claimed in any one of claims I to 15, wherein the units are arranged such that adjacent faces of the adjacent units are in a face-to-face, substantially contiguous, relationship to provide secure engagement between the units.
19. An item of furniture claimed as in claim 17 or 18, where the item of furniture

is a table.
20. An item of furniture claimed as in claim 17 or 18, where the item of furniture is a seat.
21. An item of furniture claimed as in claim 18, where in the item of furniture is a sofa.
22.. An item of furniture claimed as in claim 18, wherein the item of furniture is a bed.