GB2453431A

GB2453431A - Item of Furniture

Info

Publication number: GB2453431A
Application number: GB0817749A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin John Eveson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-21
Filing date: 2006-03-21
Publication date: 2009-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-21
Also published as: IE20080960A1; GB0605636D0; GB0817749D0; IE20070173A1; GB2436357B; GB2436357A; GB2453431B

Abstract

An item of furniture includes a frame comprising a number of assemblies. Each assembly comprises two parallel wooden members (302, 303) arranged to form a V-shaped channel and two brackets (101A, 101B) each defining a U-shaped channel. Each one of the two wooden members of an assembly has: a first end located in a first U-shaped channel of a first one of the two brackets; and an opposing end located within the U-shaped channel of the other one of the two brackets.

Description

An Item Of Furniture

Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bracket useable for connecting wooden members to form a frame, an item of furniture including a frame comprising a number of assemblies including brackets, and a method of manufacturing an item of furniture comprising brackets.

Currently, divan bed bases are formed by upholstering a wooden frame. To provide the frame, and hence the base, with rounded corners, the frame comprises wooden members at its corners that have a machined profile having a smoothly rounded surface. In addition, the profile is machined to be suitable for receiving other structural members of the frame.

There are high material costs, including waste material cost, and high machining costs relating to the manufacture of the corner members.

It is known to reduce costs by the use of a simple square section timber for the corner members. Other wooden structural elements connecting the square corner members are then shaped to provide the finished frame with the approximation of a rounded corner. However, this method of construction requires longer pieces of timber for making the connecting structural element, and the finished base corner is typically of a poorer quality than the previously described construction.

In addition, to receive a foot, such as a caster or glider, each of the wooden members described above have to be drilled to receive an appropriate metal fitting.

Brief Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bracket useable for connecting wooden members to form a frame, said bracket comprising: a base-plate; an outer wall rigidly attached to and extending from the base-plate; and an inner wall rigidly attached to and extending from the base-plate such that said inner wall, said base-plate and said outer wall define a U-shaped channel, wherein said outer wall comprises a first outer portion and a second outer portion fixed at an angle to said first outer portion, and said inner wall comprises a first inner portion and a second inner portion fixed at an angle to said first inner portion such that a first member is fixable between the first inner portion and first outer portion and a second member is fixable between said second inner portion and second outer portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an item of furniture including a frame comprising a number of assemblies, wherein each assembly comprises a pair of parallel wooden members arranged to form a V-shaped channel and a pair of brackets each defining a U-shaped channel, each of said wooden members having opposing ends located within the U-shaped channel of a respective one of said brackets.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an item of furniture comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of assemblies such that each assembly comprises a pair of parallel wooden members arranged to form a V-shaped channel and a pair of brackets each defining a U-shaped channel, each of said wooden members having opposing ends located within the U-shaped channel of a respective one of said brackets; and connecting together said assemblies by structural elements to form a frame.

Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawings Figure 1 shows perspective view of a bracket 101 that is useable for connecting wooden members to form a frame; Figures 2A, 2B and 2C show the bracket 101 of Figure 1 in side, front and plan views respectively; Figure 3 illustrates the method of manufacturing an assembly comprising a pair of brackets lOlA and 1O1B of the type shown in Figure 1 and a pair of wooden members 202 and 203; Figure 4 shows the assembly 401 manufactured from the brackets lOlA and 1O1B and members 302 and 303 of Figure 3; Figure 5 shows a frame 500 constructed using assembly 401 of Figure 4; Figure 6 shows one end of the frame 500 of Figure 5 along with a packing pieces 601A, 601B and 601C; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the upholstered frame 701; Figure 8 shows one corner portion of the upholstered frame 701 along with a foot retaining device 801, and foot 802; Figure 9 shows the foot 802 and retaining device 801 after fitting to the upholstered frame 701; Figure 1OA shows a cross-sectional view of the bracket 101 in the of Figure IOA with the foot retaining device 801 fitted Figure lOB shows a cross-sectional view of the bracket, 101 and retaining device 801 with the foot stem 802 located in the device 801; Figure 11 shows an alternative bracket 1101; and Figure 12 shows a further alternative bracket 1201.

Written Description of the Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention Figure 1, 2A, 2B and 2C A bracket 101 that is useable for connecting wooden members to form a frame is shown in a perspective view in Figure 1 and in side front and plan views in Figures 2A, 2B and 2C respectively. The bracket consists essentially of a base-plate 102 from which extend an inner wall 103 and outer wall 104 such that the base-plate, the inner-wall and outer-wall define a U-shaped channel 120, as best seen in Figure 2B. The inner and outer walls are rigidly attached to the base-plate. In fact, in the present embodiment the whole of the bracket is formed as a single piece of plastics material by injection moulding. In a preferred embodiment the plastics material is low density polyethylene.

The inner wall 103 is itself formed in two portions that are fixed together at an angle; that is, the two portions are not coplanar. Thus, the inner wall 103 comprises a first inner portion 105 and a second inner portion 106. Each of the portions 105, 106 are substantially planar but meet at a curved corner 107.

Similarly, the outer wall 104 is formed in two portions, the first outer portion 108 and second outer portion 109 that are fixed together at an angle.

The angle between the outer portions 108 and 109 is similar to the angle between the inner portions 105 and 106, and the first outer portion 108 is arranged to be substantially parallel with the first inner portion 103 while the second outer portion 109 is substantially parallel to the second inner portion 106.

As may be seen in Figure 1 and 2C, the first and second portions of the outer wall meet at a sharp corner such that a cuboid-shaped wooden member is able to fit against both outer portions of the outer wall.

Both the outer portions 108 and 109 and the inner portions 105 and 106 extend perpendicularly from the base-plate 102. In addition, the U-shaped channel 105 is open ended such that a cuboid-shaped wooden member is able to extend between the inner wall and outer wall and butt up against the base-plate 102.

The bracket 101 further comprises a web 111 which extends between the first and second inner portions 105, 106 of the inner wall 103. The web 111 is coplanar with the base-plate 102 and in the present example has a curved edge 112 having the shape of a quadrant.

The bracket 101 also includes a foot retaining means in the form of a tube 113 which extends up from the web 111 to an open end 114. The tube 113 is located in the curved corner 107 of the inner wall 103 such that the tube is attached directly to said wall. Thus, the orientation of the tube 113 is provided with additional stability.

The tube 113 has a cylindrical bore 115 which has a necked-portion 116 of reduced internal diameter at its end open end. As will be described below, the necked-portion is arranged to interact with a retaining device for retaining a foot.

Figure 3 The method of manufacturing an assembly, which may be used with other similar assemblies to construct a frame, is illustrated in Figure 3. The assembly comprises a pair of brackets lOlA and 1O1B of the type shown in Figure 1 and a pair of wooden members 202 and 203.

The wooden members 302 and 303 are sawn lengths of timber having a cuboid shape; that is they have six rectangular faces. The two members 302 and 303 are arranged to have the same length, as indicated by arrows 304, and the same thickness, as indicated by arrows 305. The thickness is arranged to be slightly less than the gap between the inner and outer walls of the brackets 101, so that the ends of the members may be located between said walls. The widths 306 and 307 of the members 302 and 303 are different and chosen such that their difference is equal to the thickness 305.

To make the assembly, the two members 302 and 303 are arranged side by side as shown in Figure 3 to form a V-shaped channel. Each end of the members is then located between inner and outer walls of a respect one of the two brackets lOlA and 1O1B such that their end faces are abutting the base-plate of the bracket. The members are then fixed to the brackets by stapling the inner walls and the outer walls to the wooden members.

Figure 4 The assembly 401 manufactured from the brackets lOlA and 1O1B and members 302 and 303 of Figure 3 is shown in Figure 4. As may be seen in Figure 4, the width of the member 302 is chosen to be greater than the length of the outer wall portions 108 and 109. Therefore, the wooden member has a portion 402 extending out from the U-shaped channel of the brackets. Consequently, other structural elements 404, 405 may be placed against a face 403 of the member 302 adjacent to the ends of said member.

The other member 303 also has a width chosen such that a portion 406 extends out from the U-shaped channel to provide a face 407 against which other structural elements 408, 409 may be placed adjacent to the ends of the member 303.

As shown in Figure 4, the inner wall portions 105 and 106 extend beyond the members 302 and 303 such that the structural elements are able to butt up against the inner wall. Consequently, when a frame is made using the assembly 401, wooden structural elements 404, 405, and 408, 409 are fixed to the wooden members 302 and 303, and also directly to the inner walls 103 of the brackets. This attachment is also done using staples 410 or a suitable alternative.

Figure 5 A frame 500 is shown in Figure 5 constructed using assembly 401, and the wooden structural elements 404, 405, 408 and 409 of Figure 4.

The structural elements 404 and 405 have their first ends attached to the assembly 401 and their opposite ends attached to a similar assembly 501. Similarly, structural elements have their first ends attached to the assembly 401 and their opposite ends attached to a third similar assembly 502. A pair of structural elements 504 and 505, similar to elements 404 and 405, are attached at either end to the third assembly 502 and a fourth assembly 503. A fourth pair of structural elements 508 and 509, similar to elements 408 and 409, are attached at each end to assemblies 501 and 503.

In the present case, the structural elements 404, 405, 504 and 505, and 408, 409, 508 and 509 have a length chosen to make the frame 500 suitable for use as a single divan bed base. In alternative embodiments wooden members and structural elements of other lengths are used to construct a frame suitable for use in other types of furniture, such as a bench seat, a blanket chest, a pouffe, etc. As may be seen in Figure 5, each of the assemblies 401, 501, 502, 503 is arranged such that its V-shaped channel faces outwards, and each wooden member within an assembly has an outward facing edge, such as faces 403 and 407, to which the structural elements are fixed. Consequently, by increasing the width of the wooden members, such as members 302 and 303, so that they extend further out from the U-shaped channel of the bracket 101, the overall dimensions of the frame are increased. Or alternatively, to produce a frame of a particular length and width, shorter structural elements may be used if correspondingly wider members are also used. This may be advantageous when minimising the cost of material used to build a frame for a particular piece of furniture. For example, the structural elements used to make divan bed frames are cut to length from standard manufactured lengths of timber. If a shorter standard length of timber may be used by a slight increase in the width of the wooden members, then significant savings can be made to the overall materials cost.

Figure 6 One end of the frame 500 of Figure 5 is shown in Figure 6 along with three similar packing pieces 601A, 601B and 601C, referred to generally as 601.

In order to provide the finished item of furniture with smoothly rounded corner edges, a shaped packing piece 601 is fitted into the V-shaped channel of each of the assemblies 401, 501, 502 and 503. Packing pieces 601B and 601C are shown in Figure 6 fitted into assemblies 501 and 503 respectively.

The shape of the packing pieces is best seen in packing piece 601A which is shown prior to fitting. The packing piece 601A has a uniform cross-section along its length which is of similar shape to its end face 602. Thus, the cross-sectional shape is that of a quarter circle with its ninety degree apex removed. Consequently, it has two perpendicular faces 603 and 604 which fit into the V-shaped channel of the assembly, a smoothly curved face 605 which defines the outline of the finished item and a flat face 606 between the two faces 603 and 604. By providing the flat face 606 on the packing piece 601 interference with the foot retaining means 113 of the brackets is prevented.

In the present case, the packing pieces 601 are manufactured from polystyrene foam. However, the packing pieces may be made from other types material, such as other types of foam, plastic, or timber, which would provide the necessary support for the upholstery in which they are covered, and resilience to the mechanical stresses they are expected to receive during use.

Having fitted the packing pieces 601 in each of the assemblies, the frame 500 is then upholstered using conventional materials and methods to produce the upholstered frame 701 shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 A perspective view showing the underside of the upholstered frame 701 is shown in Figure 7. After being upholstered, material covering the lower brackets 101 at each of the four corners is pierced to produce a hole 702 at the location of the cylindrical bore 115.

Figure 8 One corner portion of the upholstered frame 701 is shown in Figure 8 along with a foot retaining device 801, and foot 802. In the present example the foot 802 is in the form of a single wheel castor, but another type of foot having a conventional grip-neck stem 803 may be used.

The foot retaining device 801 has a cylindrical portion 804 configured to fit within the bore 115 of the bracket 115 and an enlarged head 805 configured to cover material immediately surrounding the hole 702. A bore 806 passes through the whole length of the device 801.

To fit the foot 802 to the upholstered frame 701, the cylindrical portion 804 is pushed into the bore 115 of the bracket and clipped into place. The stem 803 of the foot 802 is then pushed into the bore of the retaining device 801 and clipped into place.

The mechanisms for retaining the device 801 in the bore 115, and for retaining foot stem 803 in the bore 806 will be further described with reference to Figures 1OA and lOB.

Figure 9 The foot 802 and retaining device 801 are shown after fitting to the upholstered frame 701 in Figure 9.

Figures IOA and lOB The bracket 101 is shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 1OA with the foot retaining device 801 fitted and in Figure lOB with the stem 802 located in the device 801.

As mentioned above, the foot retaining device 801 has a cylindrical portion 804 which has an enlarged head 805 at one end. Adjacent to the opposite end of the cylindrical portion 804 there is a section of reduced outside diameter 1001 which has a pair of slots 1002 extending longitudinally from the end. At the end of the section of reduced diameter 1001 a lip 1003 extends circumferentially around its outside, and an inner lip 1004 around the bore 806. The slots 1002 are separated by an angle of 180 degrees such that the section 1001 effectively comprises two arms 1006 that may be deflected radially inwards or outwards.

When the retaining device 801 is fitted, the cylindrical portion 804 slides through the bore 115 of the bracket 101 until the lip 1002 meets the necked-portion 116. As the device 801 is pushed in further, the neck-portioned 116 pushes the two arms 1006 inwards. When the lip 1002 exits the bore 115 the arms 1006 spring back out to their relaxed position and the lip 1003 clips over the end of the tube 113. Thus, the retaining device 801 is itself retained by the spring mechanism provided by the arms 1006.

Once the retaining device 801 is fitted the foot is then fitted by pushing its stem 803 through the bore 806 of the retaining device. The stem 803 is provided with a neck 1010 of smaller diameter adjacent to a head 1011 of larger diameter at its tip, as shown in Figure lOB. As the head 1011 meets the inner lip 1004 of the retaining device, the ends of the arms 1006 are deflected outward allowing the head to pass through. Once the head is through, the arms spring back inward and prevent the head from passing back out. Thus, the lip 1004 retains the foot in place. If the stem 803 is then pushed further so that the neck 1010 clears the lip 1004, then a main cylindrical portion 1012 of the stem pushes against the inner lip 1004, as shown in Figure lOB. The forces between the lip 1004 and stem then provide additional frictional forces which tend to resist movement of the stem in the bore.

Figure 11 An alternative bracket 1101 is shown in Figure 11. The bracket 1101 is identical to the bracket 101 but has a rib 1152 extending perpendicular to the web 1111. The rib is rigidly attached to the web along a bottom edge and also rigidly attached at respective ends to the first inner portion 1105 and the second inner portion 1106 of the inner wall 1103. The rib 1152 provides the bracket 1101 with additional strength and rigidity when compared to bracket 101.

Like bracket 101, bracket 1101 is also formed as a single plastic moulding.

Figure 12 An further alternative bracket 1201 is shown in Figure 12. The bracket 1201 is identical to the bracket 1101 but has a differently shaped web 1211.

The web 1211 has an outer edge comprising two straight sections 1261 and 1262 extending from the inner wall 1203 and a curved section 1263 joining the two straight sections. An alternative packing piece having a profile matching that of the web 1211 is used with the web to make furniture frames.

Consequently, the upholstered frame is provided with rounded corners having a small radius of curvature compared to frame 701.

The use of both brackets 1201 and 1101 in one item of furniture is envisaged. For example, in a double divan bed which has a base made from two upholstered frames joined side by side, each frame would have two corners made using brackets 1101 to provided rounded corners to the bed, and two corners would be made using brackets 1201 to provided more squarely shaped corners at the side which adjoins the other upholstered frame.

Claims

Claims 1. An item of furniture including a frame comprising a number of assemblies, wherein each assembly comprises a pair of parallel wooden members arranged to form a V-shaped channel and a pair of brackets each defining a U-shaped channel, each of said pair of wooden members of an assembly having: a first end located in the U-shaped channel of a first bracket of said pair of brackets; and an opposing end located within the U-shaped channel of the other bracket of said pair of brackets.
2. An item of furniture according to claim 1, wherein each said assembly is arranged such that said V-shaped channel faces outwards, and each said wooden member has an outward facing edge to which one or more structural elements are fixed.
3. An item of furniture according to claim 1, wherein each said bracket comprises: a base-plate; an outer wall rigidly attached to and extending from the base-plate; and an inner wall rigidly attached to and extending from the base-plate such that said inner wall, said base-plate and said outer wall define a U-shaped channel, wherein said outer wall comprises a first outer portion and a second outer portion fixed at an angle to said first outer portion, and said inner wall comprises a first inner portion and a second inner portion fixed at an angle to said first inner portion such that a first member is fixable between the first inner portion and first outer portion and a second member is fixable between said second inner portion and second outer portion.
4. An item of furniture according to claim 3, wherein said first inner portion of each said bracket is substantially parallel to said first outer portion, and said second inner portion is substantially parallel to said second outer portion.
5. An item of furniture according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein said first outer portion of each said bracket is substantially perpendicular to said second outer portion.
6. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein said inner wall and said outer wall of each said bracket extend substantially perpendicularly to said base-plate.
7. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 6, wherein each said bracket includes a web extending between said first inner portion and second inner portion.
8. An item of furniture according to claim 7, wherein said web is coplanar with said base-plate.
9. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 8, wherein each said bracket includes a tube having a cylindrical bore for receiving a castor retaining device.
10. An item of furniture according to claim 9, wherein said cylindrical bore has a portion of reduced diameter to allow a castor retaining device to be held in place by a clipping mechanism.
11. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 10, wherein each said bracket includes a web extending between said first inner portion and said second inner portion of said inner wall, and said tube is attached directly to said web.
12. An item of furniture according to any of claims 9 or 10, wherein said tube of each said bracket is attached directly to said inner wall.
13. An item of furniture according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said bracket includes a rib extending from said web and between said first inner portion and second inner portion.
14. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 13, wherein each said bracket is moulded from a plastics material.
15. An item of furniture according to any of claims 3 to 14, wherein said U-shaped channel of each said bracket is open ended to allow direct attachment of structural elements to portions of members retained within the U-shaped channel.
16. An item of furniture according to any of claims I to 15, wherein said item of furniture is a bed.
17. A method of manufacturing an item of furniture comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of assemblies such that each assembly comprises a pair of parallel wooden members arranged to form a V-shaped channel and a pair of brackets each defining a U-shaped channel, each of said wooden members of an assembly having opposing ends located within the U-shaped channel of a respective one of the pair of brackets of the assembly; and connecting together said assemblies by structural elements to form a frame.
18. A method of manufacturing an item of furniture according to claim 17, wherein each said assembly is arranged such that said V-shaped channel faces outwards, and each said wooden member has an outward facing edge to which one or more structural elements are fixed.