US2597277A

US2597277A - Article of furniture

Info

Publication number: US2597277A
Application number: US227235A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stanley T Anderson
Original assignee: ALLIANCE FURNITURE Co
Current assignee: ALLIANCE FURNITURE Co
Priority date: 1951-05-19
Filing date: 1951-05-19
Publication date: 1952-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 1969-05-20

Description

May 20, 1952 s. T. ANDERSON 2,597,277

ARTICLE 'OF FURNITURE Filed May 19, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 22 F F l lji Zhmentor STANLEY TA/VOEPSO/V ttomeg May 20, 1952 Filed May 19, 1951 S. T. ANDERSON ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 STANLEY TANDEPSO/V aw/A/yz Gttorneg homes-considerably more emphasis Patented May 20, 1952 UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

ARTIGLE 0F FURNITURE Stanley 'l. Anderson, Jamestown, N. Y., assignor to Alliance Furniture Company, Jamestown, N. Y;, "a corporation of New York.

Application May 19, 1951, Serial No. 227,235

'3 Claims.

, 1 This invention relates. toan article ofiurniture that is designed, and intended to be used under a variety of conditions. Moreparticularly, the invention is directed to an article of furniture of the chest type wherein is provided operative structure that .may be opened up or extended to enable use of the article not only as a storage chest, but. also as a desk .oras a dining table.

niture. manufacturers to design articles thathad multiple uses. The demand for such articles was partly due to the saving efiectcd by not having to purchase two or more separat articles for the same purposes. However, as the trend in home or dwelling size changed towards smaller or fewer roomsthisbeing particularly typified by-the many one, two, or three room apartment is now placed on articles of furniture that occupy rela tively" little space and yet are capable of being opened or extended to adapt them to a variety of'uses.

It is with the latter type of article of iurnitu-re that the present invention is concerned; namely; the provision of an article in the form of a chest that, by means of adjustable and extendable parts, can be transformed into a writing desk or into a full size dining table.

It is an object of the invention to provide a chest having operable parts that enable use as a desk or table without in any way interfering with or curtailing the storage space therein.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combined chest and extension dining table in which the supporting legs of the extension table, when not in use, will be confined within the chest limits and appear as a part of the chest structure and at the same time will lend ornamental appearance to one face of the chest.

A further and important object of the invention lies in the provision of a chest that not only includes extension slides and legs for a full length dining table, but is also provided with storage space for the necessary leaves by which to form the tabletop.

Still further advantages of the invention lie in the provision of a chest that not only includes operative structure to enable use as a desk or dining table but also adequate storage space in the form of a cupboard and utensil drawer.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specification; takenin con- 2 junction with the accompanying drawing; and in which I r Fig. 1 is a frontelevational view of a chest in which one form of the invention is'embodied;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. l, with the leg supportedshelf in a partially extended position to enable use as a writing desk]; I

Fig.3 is a side elevational view of' the chest with the shelf fully extended and leaves in place to provide a full size diningtable;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 3, parts of both chest and table top being broken away to disclose certain structural details;

Fig. ,5 is an enlarged vertical transverse sec.- tional View of the chest,ls'howin'g the relationship of cupboard, d rawer, shelf, and leaves; being taken substantially 0n the line 55' of Fig.1; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the storage area for the supporting legs of the shelf and table.

Referring, more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral H! is employed tog'enerally designate a chest in which one form or the present. invention is embodied. The chestisagen- ,erally rectangular in shape andlincludes endwalls H, rear wall I2, and top [3. As viewed from the front, the chest appears. to be provided. with a top drawer I4 which in reality, howe'ver, .is a door to a compartment I 6 located directlybeneath the top 13', and in which are mounteda number of table leaves. H. For. convenients'ton age and. handling, each leaf is supported: at...its

ends, on guides l8 that are attached in parallel spaced relation to the inner faces of the end walls H. The door I4 is top-hung at its ends on a pair of pivot pins l9. These pins extend into recessed tracks in the sides 12 of the chest and enable swinging the door upwardly into a horizontal position and then sliding it rearwardly over suitable guides 21. It will be evident, from drawers which are actually door M and apron 23. Depending from the forward end of the shelf are legs 21. These legs serve as a support for the shelf when it is extended into the position shown in Fig. 2, the shelf herein constituting a desk top. A pair of conventional slide units 29 are provided. Each unit, in the present illustration of the invention, consists of forward or end members 29 attached to the under face of the shelf 22, and rear end members 3| that are secured to the fixed horizontal partition 32 located within the chest and forming the bottom wall to the compartment l6. The middle member 33 of each slide is secured to a croSs bar 34, from the ends of which depend intermediate legs 36. For convenience in the movement of this intermediate portion of the slide, legs 36 may be equipped with rollers 31.

Viewing the chest from the front (Fig. 1), it will be noted that a drawer 38 is located directly beneath the apron 23 and above a pair of cupboard doors 39. This drawer is confined between a pair of vertical partitions 4| which, in cooperation with end walls I form open-front pockets 42 in which to receive the

legs

21 and 36. The rear of each of these pockets may be closed by panels 43. The drawer 38 is mounted to slide on suitable guides carried by a horizontal partition 44. The partition 44 does not extend quite to the front of the chest and is concealed by the lower edge of the drawer front 46. Inasmuch as the drawer 38 is generally intended to be used for storage of silverware, several partitions 41 are shown. The cupboard doors 39 are hinged to the partitions 4| and serve to close a lower storage compartment 48. Except for the pockets 42 at the front of the chest, the compartment 48 is full chest size and is provided, of course, with a bottom wall 49. For convenience, one or more shelves may be located in this compartment. The bottom wall 49 of the compartment appears as an ornamental divider between the doors 39 and'an ornamental apron 52.

Attention is again directed to Fig. 1 wherein it will be noted that due to the construction of the chest, the end walls II and partitions 4| cooperatewith legs 21 to give an ornamental appearance. Also that door I4 and apron 23 of the shelf 22, with the actual drawer 38, give the appearance of a storage chest having a series of upper drawers as well as a compartment accessible by doors 39. I

For a better understanding of the advantages of the above set out invention, a brief description of operation and use of the various parts is set out. It will be first noted that the contents of the compartment 48, or the contents of the drawer 38, are easily accessible. Should it be desired to utilize the chest as a desk, it is merely necessary to grasp knobs 26, attached to the apron 23, and withdraw shelf 22 from the chest. The shelf may be withdrawn to any extent de sired, as shown in Fig. 5, but preferably to the extent shown in Fig. 2. It is quite evident that any articles placed on the chest top |3 need not be removed nor disturbed in any way when it is desired to withdraw the shelf 22. Thus, it is entirely practical to superpose an ornamental or other type cabinet or shelf on the chest for the purpose of providing additional enclosed space. At such time as it is desired to utilize the chest as a dining table, the shelf is withdrawn completely from the body of the chest and the extension slides 28 are moved to a position such as suggested in Fig.4 of the drawing. As movement of the shelf 22 is continued, legs 36 withdraw from the pockets 42 and ultimately occupy a midway position between the legs 21, supporting shelf 22, and the front of the chest. With the shelf and extension slides in this position, it is merely necessary to open the door l4, remove leaves l1 and lay them on the slides 28 in abutting relation. In this manner the full size dining table is made complete. Due to the support provided by the chest at one end, the legs 21 at the other end, and the intermediate legs 36, the table, throughout its length, will be wholly stable under any and all weight or strain to which such tables are normally subjected. When it is desired to retract the table, the leaves H are returned to the compartment l6, and door |4 lowered into its closed position. It is now merely necessary to push inwardly or toward the chest on the shelf 22. Such movement retracts the slides 28 and as they are retracted, legs 36 first enter the pockets 42 and ultimately, when the apron 23 becomes flush with the face of the chest, legs 21 enter these pockets. The arrangement of the movable parts is such that when they are retracted they are either flush with the chest front or are in such relationship as to present an attractive and ornamental appearance.

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of his invention, it will be understood that variations in drawer and compartment size, as well as .other details relating to style rather than construction, may be made and are contemplated insofar as they are encompassed by the annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitions at the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end walls to form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from one chest and wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chest to provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slide units, the innermost members of said units being secured on said horizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of said units, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, a first set of legs depending from the front corners of said shelf, a second set of legs depending from intermediate members of said units, said sets of legs being contained in said pockets when said shelf and said units are fully retracted, said first set of legs serving to close said pockets, a door for said compartment, said door and combined shelf and apron cooperating to close said compartment and constitute the ornamental upper front portion of said chest when said shelf and said sets of legs are fully retracted.

2. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitions at the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end walls to form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from one chest end wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chest to provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slide units, the innermost members of said units being secured on said horizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of said units, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, said compartment being adapted to receive and contain said shelf and said slide units and provide space thereabove for a set of leaves individually removable for placement on said slide units when the members thereof are extended, a first set of legs depending from the front corners of said shelf, a second set of legs depending from intermediate members of said units, said sets of legs being contained in said pockets when said shelf and said units are fully retracted, said first set of legs serving to close said pockets, a door for said compartment, said door and combined shelf and apron cooperating to close said compartment and constitute the ornamental upper front portion of said chest when said shelf and said sets of legs are fully retracted.

3. An article of furniture in the form of a chest, vertical partitions at the front corners of said chest cooperating with the chest end walls to form front opening pockets, a horizontal partition extending from one chest end wall to the other and cooperating with the top of said chest to provide a front opening compartment, extendable members forming slide units, the innermost members of said units being secured on said horizontal partition, a shelf secured on the outermost members of said units, an apron depending from the front edge of said shelf, a first set of legs depending from the front corners of said shelf, a second set of legs depending from intermediate members of said units, said sets of legs being contained in said pockets when said shelf and said units are fully retracted, said first set of legs serving to close said pockets, a door for said compartment, said door and combined shelf and apron cooperating to close said compartment and constitute the ornamental upper front portion of said chest when said shelf and said sets of legs are fully retracted, a drawer between said pockets located directly beneath said horizontal partition, a further open-front compartment beneath said drawer, the opening into said further compartment being limited in width to the space between said pockets, and doors carried by the inner walls of said pockets, said doors cooperating to close said further compartment, said first set of legs, the front of said drawer and said doors constituting the ornamental front portion of said chest beneath said apron.

STANLEY T. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 127,761 Goodnow June 11, 1872 574,759 Pickett Jan. 5, 1897 1,409,871 Teatherman Mar. 14, 1922