US1524897A - Table top and method of manufacturing same - Google Patents

Description

E. H. WElL TABLE TOP AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME Filed March 1922 I Iii-F I I I I I I I I I I I A:

vision of a simple,.cheap and efli-cient met 0d mean a. WEIL, or CLEVELAND, ,onro,

.QFFI E AssIGNon TO VI'TREOUS s'rnnn rnonuc'rs COMPANY, orcLEvnLANn, onro, A CORPORATIONQQF DELAWARE.

rABLE TO? .AND METHOD or manurecrunmo. sum

Application tiled March 2, 1922; Serial m. 549,609.

To all whom it mag/concern:

Be it known that .I, EDGAR H. WEIL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful n'1 rovement in Table Tops and Methods of anufacturing Same, .of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompan ing drawings. 1

y invention relates to improvements in sheet metal objects and their manufacture and more particularly it relates to table tops of the enameled sheet metal type such as used in kitchen cabinets, tables and the like.

An object of my invention is the provision of a sheet metal table top which has a plane or flat surface and does not have bulges or buckles therein, and comprises anovel method of removing such bulges or buckles and holding such table tops flat, so that any-bulges or buckles that may have been therein are permanently removed.

Another object of the invention is the roof removing bulges and holding flat the table tops in which buckles have appeared during the course of manufacture.

These and other objects of the invention which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art are obtained by the method and construction illustrated in the drawings;

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, I

Figure l isasection on line 1-1' Fig. 2.

Fig. 2' is a view of the top inverted with the spreading means in place. i

Fig. 3 is a plan View of thetable top.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View partly in section showing one of the wedges.

In the manufacture of sheet metal table tops, particularly those to receive an enamel coating, the tops are first formed in a ress with a flat surface surrounded by a dbwn turned flange or channel which may form a continuous bead or -rib higher than the top proper around the periphery of the top,

thus giving the effect of. a depressed top.

This flange or channel greatly strengthens the topas well as giving the appearance of thickness and avoids presentmg sharp meal edges on the outside. Such stampings are then heated and enameled in the usual way until suificient coatings of enamel expansion of the enamel and flange, and also to enable the to have been applied. It is during the enameling operation that table tops are frequently warped and buckled,i so that they do not have a flat surface. I it For 'enameling' it is necessary to heat the stampings to a relatively high tempera ture, which causes expansion of the metal:

As coats of enamel are built upon the top,

it seems that strains are set up inthe metal, perhaps due to the unequal coefficients of metal, so thatwhen the'top cools bulging or warping occurs, and the table top'does nothave a flat surface.-

It has been suggested that this bulging or Warping is due to strains set 11 between the enamel and metal, caused by t e enamel not contracting as much as the metal upon cooling. This would seen to be true, for otherwise a slight stretching of the metal. would cause the enamel to crack or scale.

Unless thefinished top be fiat, the user of the table is caused annoyance by having articles placed on the table slide around, or even slide ofl" the table when it is wet and the bulge extends upwardly. This is because the smooth enamel surface has a very low angle of repose, and articles, particularly wet ones, such as Wet dishes, are very apt to slide off the table to the floorand break. i I

It is customary" to insert awooden frame in the top and against theflange or' channel to somewhat strengthen this edge gr to e secured to its sup ort, whether 1t be a kitchen cabinet,ta le 'legs, or other supporting means.

My invention consists in forcing apart opposite flanges of the enameled top, -or preferably theopposite membersof such a frame as abovedescribed if one is used, and holding such members or flanges spread by suitable cross braces placed between them.

such different requirements in pressure, so that when pressure is applied against the opposite sides of the frame the parts of the metal not badly warped will not be unduly stretched, and yet even the largest bulges or buckles will be removed. The bead or rib is able to compensate for this by reason of the fact that it will tend to straighten or have its height decreased slightly before the metal at that portion of the top will be unduly stretched. Such reduction in the bead, however, doesnot disfigure the top as it is not apparent to the e e. I

This operation does not add materially to the cost of manufacture. Moreover, it actually accomplishes quite a saving by enabling one to'use relatively thin gauge material for making an equally good and sufficiently strong table top, having a flat surface. The present use of much heavier gauge material is not for the additional strength, but to prevent as far as possible the warping that occurs when the top is heated and enameled.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the enameled table top with its depending flange 2, which may be ofv any suitable shape, but which ispreferably channel shape as shown in the drawing. Formed in the top is an expansible or compensating bead 2. The frame consists of sides 4 and ends 5 fitted to the flange 2 and retainedthereby, and they are more easily retained when the flange is turned in so that it becomes channel shaped. The sides of the frame which are the membersusually I forced apart are preferably grooved at 8 to receive cross members 9 which carry at their ends tongues 10. The spreading is done by one or more turnbuckles, or other suitable spreading means such as cams orwedges (not shown), and may be carried on until the table top is perfectly fiat. .The other members, that is the ends and cross pieces, are then inserted between the opposite sides of the frame members. Preferably small wedges 11 are inserted between the ends of the cross braces and the frame members. after the spreading means has been operated and the table top made flat. This insures that the braces will be sufficiently long to hold the entire spread that is obtained and enables the operator to quickly adjust the braces to any such length, rather than to carry a large: stock of cross braces of different lengths to be precisely fitted between the side members.

The frame members may be securely fastened to each other after the cross braces 0 are inserted, by any suitable fastening means such as screws, dowel pins, straps, etc.

liurthermore, it is to be understood that the particular'forms of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. The process of removing bulges from enameled sheet metal objects having a body portion of substantial area which consists in forcing opposite sides'of the periphery of such object apart and inserting means to hold such opposite sides in spread position.

2. The process of manufacturing enameled sheet metal objects having a body portion, a curved peripheral bead and a depending flange, which consists in forcing apart portions of the flange at opposite sides of the object and inserting means to permanently hold them in spread position, ghereby said body portion is substantially at. i

3. The process of manufacturing sheet metal objects which consists in enameling a sheet of metal, positioning parts of a frame adjacent to opposite portions of 'the periphery of such sheet, forcing such opposite portions apartand inserting means to hold them in spread position, thereby'tensioning the metal and removing such bulges-as may have been present after the enameling operation.

4. The process of manufacturing sheet metal objects havingv a peripheral curved bead and depending flange, which consists in enameling such an object with a vitreous enamel and inserting parts of a frame against the flange at opposite portions of the sheet, forcing such opposite portions apart and inserting means to hold them in spread position.

5. The process of removing bulges from enameled sheet metal tabletops which consists in positioning members adjacent to opposite portions of the'periphery of such tops, forcing the members apart and inserting additional members to hold them in spread position and complete an inner frame for supporting the top, thereby tensioning the metal and removing such bulges as may have been present after the enameling operation. i

6. The process of manufacturing enameled table tops which consists in coating a top member having a curved peripheral rib and a flange with enamel, baking the top, placing parts of a frame against the inner walls of such flange at opposite sides of the top, forcing away from each other such members apart, whereby frame parts and inserting additional frame parts to permanently hold them in spread position.

I 7. The process of manufacturing sheet metal table tops which consists in forming a stamping having a body portion, a peripheral expansible bead and a peripheral flange, enameling it, inserting frame members therein which correspond to the shape of the peripheral flange, forcing opposite frame members apart, inserting cross braces and wedges to hold the opposite members in spread position, and removing the spread: mg means.

8. An enameled sheet metal object having a body portion, frame members positioned adjacent to opposite sides of such body portion, and means permanently under compression to hold such frame is held substantially flat.

said body portion 9. An enameled sheet metal object having a body portion, a peripheral expansible bead and a peripheral flange, frame members oppositely situated and fitting within said flange, and additional frame, members permanently under compression to hold said first mentioned frame members apart, whereby the body portion. of the sheet is held substantially flat.

10. A rectangular enameled sheet metal table 'top having a continuous peripheral flange with a turned in extremity, opposite v rame frame members fitting in said flange, member-sand cross pieces permanently held under compression between said opposite frame members to hold them apart, whereby the body portion of said table top is held substantially flat.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature. v EDGAR H. WEIL.

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