SE542544C2

SE542544C2 - Rectangular plate and a furniture part

Info

Publication number: SE542544C2
Application number: SE1551646A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Anders Pettersson
Original assignee: Ikea Supply Ag
Priority date: 2015-12-15
Filing date: 2015-12-15
Publication date: 2020-06-02
Also published as: CN108430720A; EP3389964A4; WO2017105323A1; EP3389964A1; SE1551646A1

Abstract

A rectangular plate for forming a hollow furniture structure is provided. The plate (103) comprises a first surface (104), a second surface (105), and a first and a second edge portion provided at a first (106) and a second (107) end portion of the plate (103) respectively. The first surface (104) is provided with at least two parallel elongate slots (112, 113) by which the plate (103) is arranged to be folded to form the hollow furniture structure (101a, 101b).

Description

RECTANGULAR PLATE AND A FURNITURE PART TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a rectangular plate for forrning a hollow furniture structure as well as a furniture part comprising a rectangular plate.

BACKGROUND A piece of furniture, both in homes and in public, is exposed to large loads and wear. Itneeds to be well constructed and robust. Additionally, it should be easy to assemble at afactory. Further, the furniture should be aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. This cane.g. be accomplished by rounded shapes.

It is known, e. g. from GB20l0l73A, to provide a plank with grooves such thatit can be bent in order to forrn a columnar article. A drawback with this product is that acore material to be inserted into the hollow part of the column is described. Thissuggests that the wood structure in itself is not strong enough to make the columnarstructure robust.

A method of producing curved wood surfaces by grooves or notches in the faceof a wooden plate is also described in FR2553023. Also this structure requiresreinforcement in the forrn of a stiffening framework which holds the curvature in itsdesired state.

A strengthening framework or core material adds to the costs of the product, aswell as the weight. It would therefore be desirable to produce a curved shape of fumiture that does not need a supportive backing.

SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide a new type of fumiture part which isimproved over prior art and which eliminates or at least mitigates the drawbacksdiscussed above. More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a fumiturepart that is lightweight, robust and easy to assemble. These objects are achieved by thetechnique set forth in the appended independent claims with preferred embodiments defined in the dependent claims related thereto.

In a first aspect of the invention, a rectangular plate for forrning a holloW furniturestructure is provided. The plate comprises a first surface, a second surface, and a firstand a second edge portion provided at a first and a second end portion of the platerespectively. The first surface is provided With at least tWo parallel elongate slots byWhich the plate is arranged to be folded to forrn the holloW furniture structure. Thf: first surface is firrtiliei' :Bros/ideal “with a nurnšøer of naraä lel elongate Oiooxfes coxiñgrrreai. to form at l-eaist one :zurv-:ëd iportion. The grooves arr: Xfïshapeil and form a grooved s-ectitxiiin wwliicli 'the ﬁirooiøes are prfßeifšefl close to each other. This furniture structure isadvantageous since it is made out of one piece of material. It is also light Weight since it is a holloW structure.

In one embodiment, the holloW furniture structure is provided With at least onecurved portion. A curved portion is aesthetically appealing, and a vault like construction is also robust.

In another embodiment, the second surface comprises a recess configured toreceive the second edge portion. Thereby the construction locks itself in that no additional locking or clamping elements are needed.

Preferably, the recess is rectangular. This is advantageous since the secondedge portion in most embodiments is rectangular. Thus, the second end portion fits Well into the recess.

The plate may be a Wooden plate or a chipboard plate. An advantage With aWooden plate is that is robust. An advantage With a chipboard plate is that it is lightWeight.

In one embodiment, the first surface is further provided With a number ofparallel elongate grooves. The grooves may be V-shaped. Further, the grooves are configured to forrn the at least one curved portion. This is an advantageous Way to forrn a curved portion, by removing wedge shaped portions of the plate, such that the platemay be bent.

The grooves may be parallel with the short sides of the rectangular plate andthe grooves may have a length corresponding to the width of the rectangular plate. Thisis advantageous if a curvature with equal curvature diameter along the whole extension of the curved portion.

In one embodiment, the grooves are provided in the first end portion of the plate such that the at least one curved portion is obtained by folding of the plate.

In another embodiment, a rectangular recess is provided between two of the V-shaped grooves and which is configured to receive the first edge portion. Glue isprovided in the recess. This is advantageous since locks the fumiture structure. Glue is provided in order to further increaser the robustness of the structure.

The slots may be V-shaped and surfaces of the slots may be provided with a45° slope relative a normal plane of the first surface of the rectangular plate. This provides the finished structure with 90° comers.

In a second aspect, a fumiture part comprising a rectangular plate is provided.The plate comprises a first inner surface provided with at least two slots by which theplate is folded to form a boxlike shape, and a second outer surface. The plate furthercomprises a first and a second end portion configured to meet each other to form thebox-like shape. 'šlbre inner silrface is fiurther pmvåfleai. ævitlx a txurfxlﬁet' oífXëarallel ešaëogate grooves confíOurﬁ-.d to form at least one ciirvfed portion. 'Üïliﬁf ﬁrooxfes are “æf-sliaped and torra a grooved section in swfliicb the f rooves are nroxfitlafd close to eazfn other. This is an advantageous way to form a furniture part since it involves only one piece of material and no splicing is required.

The inner surface may further be provided with at least one groove, the at leastone groove may be V-shaped. The grooves may be provided in parallel with the shortends of the plate and may have a length corresponding to the width of the rectangularplate. The grooves may provide the fumiture part with a curved portion when the plateis folded. V-shaped grooves are advantageous when the plate is supposed to be folded into a curved shape.

Preferably, the outer surface comprises a rectangular recess in which thesecond edge portion is provided to lock the fumiture part, and wherein glue is providedin the recess. By securing the fumiture structure in a self-securing manner, no need foradditional clamping or securing organs are required. Glue is provided for extra robustness of the attachment.

The slots may be V-shaped and sloping surfaces of the slots may be providedwith a 45° angle relative a normal plane of the first surface of the plate such that the fumiture part may be provided with comers of 90° when the plate is folded.

The first surface of the plate is in one embodiment provided with a recess inwhich the first end portion is provided. This provides for additional stability of thefumiture part.

The fumiture part is in one embodiment an armrest for a piece of fumiture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSEmbodiments of the invention will be described in the following; reference being madeto the appended diagrammatical drawings which illustrate non-limiting examples of how the inventive concept can be reduced into practice.

Fig. l is a perspective view of a sofa comprising rounded armrests,Fig. 2a is a perspective view of a plate with grooves, Fig. 2b is a perspective view of the plate with one end portion raised, Fig. 2c is a perspective view of the plate with two end portions raised,Fig. 2d is a perspective view of the plate with a curved portion, and Fig. 2e is a perspective view of a curved amirest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, certain embodiments will be described more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforrns and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure willbe thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention, such as it isdefined in the appended claims, to those skilled in the art.

In Fig. 1 a sofa 100 is shown, which comprises curved armrests 101a, 101bformed from a rectangular plate. In other embodiments, the armrests 101a, 101b mayform part of an arrnchair, a chair, a couch, or any other piece of fumiture that maybenefit from an arrnrest. In another embodiment the rectangular plate may form anotherfumiture part, or a structure not associated with a piece of fumiture.

The armrests 101a, 101b are hollow, thus, no large weight is added to the sofa100. The rounded shape of the arrnrests 101a, 101b contribute to a comfortable andaesthetically appealing piece of fumiture 100. It is obvious that a seating area 102 of thesofa 100 needs to withstand the load of a number of people sitting in the sofa 100, butalso the arrnrests 101a, 101b need to withstand a load larger than just of an arm restingon it. It is not unusual that people sit down on the arrnrest 101a, 101b. If that happens,the arrnrest 101a, 101b must not collapse or get damaged. The arrnrest 101a and theassembly thereof will be further described below.

Fig. 2a shows a rectangular plate or board 103 which comprises a first surface104 and an opposite second surface 105. The plate 103 may be made of wood,chipboard or any other suitable material. The plate 103 may be a homogenous plate. Theplate may altematively be inhomogeneous, such as a chipboard with different densitiesat different locations of the chipboard. This plate 103 will form the arrnrest 101a. In thefirst surface 104 a number of grooves 108 and a recess 109 are milled in a direction parallel with the short sides of the rectangular wooden plate 103. Both the grooves 108 and the recess 109 extend over the Whole width of the plate 103. The grooves may bemilled in a continuous production line such that all or several grooves are milledsimultaneously giving a very high production speed.

In a first end portion 106 of the plate 103 a grooved section 115 is providedcomprising eleven V-shaped grooves 108 which are provided close to each other. Seealso the enlarged section for a closer view of one of the V-shaped grooves 108. Eachgroove 108 comprises two sloping surfaces 108a, 108b. The number of V-shapedgrooves 108 may of course vary between applications. Eleven is not a fixed number.The V-shaped grooves 108 do not extend all the way through the wooden plate 13, seethe enlarged section of Fig. 2a. A thin strip of material 110 is left such that the woodenplate 103 is kept in one piece. To additionally strengthen the plate 103, a foil or film(not shown) may be provided on the second surface 105 such that the plate 103 does notcome apart due to the grooves 108 or slots 112, 113. The film or foil can be made ofplastic, metal or any other suitable material. The film is glued to the second surface 105.Altematively the grooves may be made all the way through the board and plastic strips,or foil, or tape, may be attached to keep the board together.

In addition it is possible, however not shown herein, to mill the grooves onboth sides of the board to achieve a smoother folding surface. The general technique ofmilling a board from two directions and using a foil as a hinge member is described inWO2010/049418A1 and will thus not be described in more detail herein. The techniqueof milling and folding shown in WO2010/049418A1 may be used for the grooves 108as wells as for the slots 112, 113. Further, among the V-shaped grooves 108 therectangular recess 109 is provided.

In an area located between the middle of the rectangular plate 103 and a secondend portion 107 of the plate 103 two additional V-shaped slots 112, 113 are providedparallel with the short sides of the rectangular plate 103. The sloping surfaces 112a,112b, 113a, 113b of these V-shaped slots 112 do not descend as steeply as the slopingsurfaces 108a, 108b of the grooves 108. The sloping surfaces 112a, 112b, 113a, 113bare provided with an angle of 45° to a normal plane of the first surface 104. Thus each V-shaped slot 112, 113 have a larger width than each groove 108.

In the second surface 105 a rectangular recess 114 is provided in the secondend portion 107, also extending in parallel with the short side of the rectangular plate103.

In the following the process of forrning a rounded armrest 101a, 101b of theplate 103 is described. In Fig. 2b the second end portion 107 is raised according to thearrow. The plate 103 is thus bent along the V-shaped slot 112. Thus, the second endportion 107 comprises the part of the plate 103 extending from the slot 112 to an edgeportion 117. Since the sloping surfaces 112a, 112b of the slot 112 are provided withsuch an angle, 45°, the second end portion 107 forrns a 90° angle relative the rest of theplate 103 when the surfaces 112a, 112b meet.

In Fig. 2c also the first end portion 106 is raised according to the arrow. Theplate 103 is bent along the V-shaped slot 113 such that the surfaces 113a, 113b contacteach other forrning a 90° angle. Thus, the first end portion 106 comprises the part of theplate 103 extending from the slot 113 to an edge portion 118. The first surface 104becomes an inner surface of the assembly and the second surface 105 becomes an outersurface.

Further to Fig. 2d, the rounded portion of the arrnrest 101a is formed. Thegrooved section 115 is rolled up such that it assumes a curved shape and becomes acurved portion 116. This is achieved by the grooves 108. Each pair of sloping surfaces108a, 108b of each groove 108 is brought into contact with each other such that acurved or rounded shape is formed of the first end portion 106. To stabilize the arrnrest101a the edge portion 117 of the end portion 107 is received by the rectangular recess109 and locked in place (see arrow). To lock the curved portion 116 the edge portion118 of the first end portion 106 is received by the rectangular recess 114 (see arrow).Glue is provided in the recess 114 to secure the edge portion 118. Thus, the structure isself-locking and no additional support or locking means are required.

The finished arrnrest 101a is shown in Fig. 2e. This will be mounted to theother components of the sofa 100 and lined with padding and fabric in order to finishthe sofa 100. The other armrest 101b is formed according to the same procedure, but it is mirrored.

In summary, the method for forrning the armrest 101a, 101b from the ﬂat plate103 comprises the steps of folding the first end portion 106 90°, folding the second endportion 107 90°, curving the grooved section 115 such that the first edge portion 117 isfitted in the recess 109 and the second end portion 118 fits in the recess 114. Thus, thefinished arrnrest 101a, 101b comprises both 90° bends and a curved shape, all of themforrned by means of grooves or recesses.

The finished armrest 101a is a stable and robust structure thanks to its vault-like construction. The wooden pieces between the grooves 108 forrn wedges which,when they are pressed together maintains the rounded shape. In order to further securethe first edge portion 117 in the recess 109, and the second edge portion 118 in therecess 114, glue is applied in both recesses 109, 118 prior to inserting the edge portions1 17, 1 18.

The armrest 101a, 101b does not necessarily comprise a rounded shape. In analternative embodiment the first 117 and second 118 edge portions contact each other ina 90° angle such that the arrnrest 101a, 101b forrn a rectangular shape. This is not shownin the drawings. The edge portions 117, 118 may for example be secured to each otherby a surface strip.

It should be appreciated that the inventive concept is not limited to theembodiments described herein, and many modifications are feasible within the scope ofthe invention set forth in the appended claims. For instance the distance between thefirst 112 and second 113 V-shaped slots may vary, with the result that the width of thearrnrest 101a, 101b becomes larger or smaller. Further, the distance between the first V-shaped slot 112 and the first edge portion 117 can vary, such that the height of thearrnrest 101a, 101b becomes higher or lower. The number of grooves 108 in thegrooved section 115 may vary in order to achieve a curvature with a larger or smallerdiameter. The angle of the surfaces 112a, 112b, 113a, 113b need not be 45°. A larger orsmaller angle would provide the finished structure with a different appearance, nothaving comers of 90°. The technique for forrning a curved portion from a ﬂat plate is ofcourse not limited to arrnrests for sofas. The method could be applied to other arrnrests,as well as other parts of fumiture, and also in applications not relating to fumiture, where a curved outline is desired. In addition it is possible to use the technique described herein to achieve a piece of furniture Which does not have any curvedoutlines, for instance an arrnrest for a sofa Which does not have a curved upper surfacebut instead have a rather straight upper surface, or another part of a sofa such as the backrest.

Claims

1. A rectangular plate for forrning a holloW furniture structure, the plate (103) coniprising a first surface (104), a second surface (105), and a first (117) and asecond (118) edge portion provided at a first (106) and a second (107) end portion ofthe plate (103) respectively, Wherein the first surface (104) is provided With at least tWoparallel elongate slots (112, 113) by Which the plate (103) is arranged to be folded toforrn the holloW furniture structure (101a, 101b), Wherein the first surface (104) isfurther provided With a number of parallel elongate grooves (108) configured to forrn atleast one curved portion (116), Wherein the grooves (108) are V-shaped and Wherein thegrooves (108) forrn a grooved section (115) in Which the grooves (108) are provided close to each other.

2. The rectangular plate (1 (låg according to claini 1, Wherein the second surface (105) coniprises a recess (114) configured to receive the second edge portion (118).

3. The rectangular plate g 103) according to claini 2, Wherein the recess (114) is rectangular.

4. The rectangular plate g 103) according to any one of the preceding clainis,Wherein the plate (103) is a Wooden plate or a chipboard plate.

5. The rectangular plate according to any one of the preceding clainis,Wherein the grooves (108) are parallel With the short sides of the rectangular plate (103)and Wherein the grooves (108) have a length corresponding to the width of therectangular plate (103).

6. The rectangular plate i 103 g according to any of the preceding clainis,Wherein the grooves (108) are provided in the first end portion (106) of the plate (103)such that the at least one curved portion (116) is obtained by folding of the plate (103).

7. The rectangular plate according to any one of the preceding clain1s,wherein a rectangular recess (109) is provided between two of the V-shaped grooves(108) and which is configured to receive the first edge portion (117), and wherein glueis provided in the recess (109).

8. The rectangular plate according to any one of the preceding clain1s,wherein the slots (112, 113) are V-shaped and wherein surfaces (112a, 112b,113a, 113b) of the slots (112, 113) are provided with a 45° slopeaggglgrelative a norrnalplane of the first surface (104) of the rectangular plate (103).

9. A furniture part con1prising a rectangular plate (103) which con1prises a first inner surface (104) provided with at least two slots (112, 113) by which the plate (103)is folded to forrn a boxlike shape, and a second outer surface (Lä), wherein the plate(103) further con1prises a first (106) and a second (107) end portion configured to n1eeteach other to forrn the box-like shape, wherein the inner surface (104) further isprovided with a number of parallel elongate grooves (108) configured to forrn at leastone curvejl portion Ägg), wherein the grooves (108) are V-shaped and wherein thegrooves (108) forrn a grooved section (115) in which the grooves (108) are provided close to each other.

10. The furniture part according to claini 9, wherein the grooves (108) areprovided in parallel with the short ends of the plate (103) and have a lengthcorresponding to the width of the rectangular plate (103).

11. The furniture part according to clain1 9 or 10, wherein the outer surface(105) con1prises a rectangular recess (114) in which the second end portion is provided to lock the furniture part, and wherein glue is provided in the recess (114).

12. The furniture part according to any one of the clain1s 9-11, wherein theslots (112, 113) are V-shaped and wherein sloping surfaces (112a, 112b, 113a, 113b) ofthe slots (112, 113) are provided with a 45° angle relative a norrnal plane of the first surface (104) of the plate (103) such that the furniture part (101a, 101b) is providedWith corners of 90° When the plate (103) is fo1ded.

13. The furniture part according to any one of the c1ain1s 9-12 Wherein the firstsurface (104) of the p1ate (103) is provided With a recess (109) in Which the first endportion (107) is provided.

14. The furniture part according to any one of the c1ain1s 9-13, wzfhereín the furniture part being an arrnrest (101a, 101b) for a piece of furniture (100).