US2940605A - Furniture - Google Patents

Description

June 14, 1960 c. F. [,OGIE ET AL 2,940,605

FURNITURE Filed Jan. 3. 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q I I sea 40 Fig.l.

I k g 2 IO 2 33a l is 7 mi f 6 II INVENTORJ Charles E Logie 8 Alfred N.Feu1z June 14, 1960 c. F. LOGIE ET AL FURNITURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 3, 1957 Fig.2.

INVENTORJ' Charles E Logie 8 Alfred N. Feutz June 14, 1960 c. F. LOGIE ETAL 2,940,605

FURNITURE Filed Jan. 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 7 l/ 23 Fig.4. 7 7

Fig. 5,

INVENTORS Charles E Logie 8 Alfred N. Feutz June 14, 1960 c. F. LOGIE ETAL 2,940,505

FURNITURE Filed Jan. 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 mmvroza; CharlesE Logle 8 BY Alfred N. F e utz ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 c. F. LOGIE ETYAL 2,940,605

FURNITURE Filed Jan. 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet .5

Fig.9.

INVENTORS Charles F. Logie a Ifred N. Feutz 4 A United States Patent FURNITURE Charles F. Logie, Churchill Borough, and Alfred N. Feutz, Monroeville Borough, Pa., assignors to United Fixture Hardware (10., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 3, 1957, Ser. No. 632,360

2 Claims. (Cl. 211-148) This invention relates to furniture and particularly to furniture adapted for use in stores, display rooms, filling stations and other places where goods are to be displayed. It relates more particularly to furniture made up of parts which may be shipped knocked down to the location Where the furniture is to be installed and there assembled or erected. The cooperating parts of our furniture coact in a novel manner whereby assembly or erection of the furniture is facilitated and the parts are uniquely braced against one another so that the furniture is of rugged and relatively permanent construction.

While certain features of our invention may be otherwise embodied the invention is perhaps best suited for embodiment in a display rack having supporting means and members carried by the supporting means providing a display space for merchandise.

We provide furniture comprising a support having a web having aligned slots therethrough and a member adapted to be connected with the support having aligned projecting lugs adapted to enter the slots, one of the lugs having a recess inwardly spaced from its outer extremity and facing toward the other lug, the width of the bottom of the recess being at least about as great as the thickness of the web, the distance between the bottom of the recess and the nearer edge of the second mentioned lug being approximately the same as the distance between the adjacent edges of the slots, whereby the recessed lug may be first introduced into one of the slots, the member then moved toward the other slot so that a portion of the web enters the recess and the second mentioned lug then introduced in to the second mentioned slot. The edge of the recess nearer the outer extremity of the first mentioned lug may be inclined outwardly of the lug toward the second mentioned lug so that as the member is moved toward the second mentioned slot the inclined edge of the recess cooperates with the web to draw the member toward the support. The outer portion of the second mentioned lug nearer the first mentioned lug may be inclined outwardly and away from the first mentioned lug so that after the member has been moved so that a portion of the web enters the recess and the portion of the member in the region of the second mentioned lug is pushed toward the support the inclined edge portion of the second mentioned lug will cooperate with the corresponding edge of the second mentioned slot to guide the second mentioned lug into the second mentioned slot in case of a tight fit.

We further provide furniture comprising a support having a generally horizontal element and a generally vertical element connected with the generally horizontal element at an end thereof and extending generally upwardly therefrom, the generally horizontal element having slot means therein, a member adapted to be assembled to the support having projecting lug means adapted to enter the slot means and proportioned so that an edge of the member substantially abuts the generally vertical element when the lug means are positioned in the slot means, a generally vertical member positioned generally above the 2,940,605 Patented June 14, 1960 first mentioned member and engaging the same adjacent said edge to hold the first mentioned member in position generally atop the generally horizontal element and means connected with the generally vertical element restraining the generally vertical member against upward movement. Preferably two members abutting end to end are adapted to be assembled to the support and have projecting lug means adapted to enterthe slot means and are proportioned so that edges of the members substantially abut the generally vertical element when the lug'means are positioned in the slot means, and two generally vertical members are provided which are positioned respectively generally above the first mentioned members and engage the same adjacent said edges of the first mentioned mem-' bers to hold the first mentioned members in position generally atop the generally horizontal element, and means are preferably connected with the generally vertical element and extend about a portion of each of the generally vertical members restraining the generally vertical members against upward movement.

We also provide furniture comprising a support having a generally horizontally oriented element having a generally vertical web and generally horizontal flange means, a pair of members oriented generally horizontally and positioned at opposite sides of said element so as to be supported by the flange means, each of the members having a lug with an opening therethrough, and fastening means extending through lugs of the respective members and through the web of said element maintaining the assembly of the support and members. In a preferred structure the generally horizontally oriented element has generally horizontal flanges at opposite sides of the element at the bottom of the web and each pair of members which are oriented generally horizontally and positioned at opposite sides of the generally horizontally oriented element has a slot receiving one of the flanges of said element whereby the members are supported by the flanges. The lugs desirably project upwardly from the members and the fastening means extend through the lugs generally above the members and through the web of the generally horizontally oriented element maintaining the assembly of the support and members.

We still further provide furniture comprising a support having a generally vertical element and generally horizontal elements each connected at one end with the generally vertical element, one near the top and the other near the bottom of the generally vertical element so that the support is of generally 0 shape, the lower generally horizontal element having slot means therein, a lower member having lug means supported upon the lower generally horizontal element with the lug means entering the slot means, an upper member supported by the upper generally horizontal element of the support, an intermediate member lying substantially along the generally vertical element of the support and connected with the upper and lower members and holding means carried by the generally vertical element maintaining the interme diate member in position. 1

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings we have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention in which Figure 1 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view with portions cut away through a display rack;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the display rack;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line III-Ill of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line IVIV of Figure l;

' parts of the display rack are adapted to be maintained in predetermined relationship when assembled;

Figure 8 isa view similar to Figure 7 ofanother form of lug also used in the assemb1Y;-and r H a Figure 9 is a perspective view with po -'ons .cut away illustrating how elements of the display rack are as sembled. 7 r 7 Referring now more particularly tofthedrawings, the furniture shown therein is a display rack. The display rack comprises supports one of which is'designated S V (see particularly Figure ,6). Preferably a plurality of suchsupports are-employed, the supports being set up in generallyparallel spaced apart relationship, the spaces between the supports being determined by the dimensions of the cooperating parts.

Each of the supports S comprises a generally vertical element 2, a lowergenerally horizontal element 3 and an upper generally horizontal element 4. Each of the elenents 3 and 4 is connected at one end with the element 2, one at the bottom and the other at the top of the element 2,:as shown in Figure 6, so that the support S is of generally Q shape. The elements' 3 and 4 may be assembled to the element '2 by suitable interfitting and fastening and/or welding. Thesupport'S is preferably made of metal and the elements thereof are preferably welded together.

The series of spaced apart supports 5 may be fastened directly to the floor or to base boards as shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 aud o. Base boards 6 are shown which may be vfastened to the floor in generally parallel relation, and each of the supports S is screwed to the base boards by screws 7 passing through openings 8-dri11ed in the flanges 9 of 'thelower elements 3. 1

The element '3 of each of .the supports S is shown in 7 cross section inrFigure 5. "It is of generally inverted .U

shape in crosstsection with thetflanges 9 extending outwardly, from the feetas shown in Figure 5. Each of the elements 3 has at its .top a generally horizontal Web 10 through which areformed aligned elongated slots 11 and 12., 7

The generally fhollow '(see Figure 4) and preferably has applied to its forwardface a vertically continuous generally. U shaped bracket '13 as clearly shown in Figure 4. i The bracket 13 has flanges 14 which lie against the forward face of the imem'ber' 2 as shown and the bracket may be welded tothe member 2 at the ends of thetflanges 14.as,shown at 15. In the outervface '16 of the bracket 13 is a vertically aligned series ofrslots 17 (see Figure 2). i

The upper generallyhorizontalelement 4 of each support S is of generally I shape in cross section a's'shown in Figure 3. Theielement maybe made upbf channelstdis- [posed back to back as shown in Figure 3 and welded to- ,gether. Thus there is-form'edtan' element having agenerally vertical web '18 with generally'hon'zonta'l flanges 19 projecting laterally from the web 18 in both directions at both the top and the bottom of the web. Spaced open- 7 ings .Zdare drilled through the web.

Adapted to be assembled with the'supports S are lower generally horizontal members 21, upper generally horizontal members 22 and intermediate generally vertical .members 23. Each of the members 21, 22 and 23 is adapted to span the space between adjacent spaced apart ysupportsSJ For example, the spacingon centers between adjacent supports S is preferably substantially equal to ..the length of the members 21 and22. The members'23 are of slightlyless length as will presently appear.

:Each member 21is in generally the shape of a support or shelf, i.e., planar, but hasa recess 24extending along its upper rear edge as shown in Figure 1. Each member vertical element 2 is shown as being 21 is adapted to have each end supported on the element 3 of one of two spaced apart supports S (see Figure 2). A lug 25 (Figure 7) and a lug 26 (Figure 8) are fastened by screws 27 to the under surface of each member 21 ad- 5 jacent each end thereof, i.e., there are four lugs, two of each type, fastened to each member 21. Each of the lugs 25 and 26 is of L shape as shown, having a body 28 drilled at 29 to receive the screws 27 and having a downwardly projecting flange 30. The difference, between the 10 ilugs 25 and 26 is that the flange 30 of each lugi26"hasla recess 31 inwardly spaced from its outer extremity and facing toward its companion lug 25 as shown in Figure 1.

- The lower edge of the recess is inclined as shown at 31a.

Of course, the lugs 26 are made in rights and lefts' for application to the respective ends ofthe members 21. Since the flanges 30 of the lugs 25 are symmetrical those lugs do not have to be made in rights and left's and may be applied at rbothtends ofveach'of the members 21., 7 Y

a The widthrof the bottom ,32-0ftherecess ,31 of each of the lugs 26 is preferably at least about as great as the thickness of the web 10, as shown in Figure ,1. ,Thedistance between the bottom 32 of the recess 31 and the nearer edge 33 (Figure 1) of the companionlug is in the case of each pair of lugs 25 and 26 preferably ap- 25 proximately the same as thedistance between the adjacent edges of the corresponding slots 11 and 12 whereby each lug 26 may be first introducedinto its slot 11, the member 21 then moved toward the slots 12 so that portions of the webs 10 of the elements 3 enter the recesses 31, whereafter the lugs 25 areintroduced into their slots 12. Thus so long as the rear ends (i.e the ends having the recesses 24) .of the members 21 are held down against the elements "3 the parts are securely locked together. The outer faces of the flanges 30 of the lugs 25 and 26 are substantially 3 flush with the end faces of the members 21 asshown in Figure 5 so that each slotll receives the flanges30 of two lugs '26 andeach slot 12 receives theflangesjfl'of two lugs 25. When the member 21 has been introduced into position as above described and as shown in Figure'l 40 its rearward end substantially abuts the front face ofthe corresponding member Trim 34 maybe applied to 'each member 21 at the under portion thereof adjacentits forward end for appearance. a a

' The outer portion 33a of the edge'33 ofeach lug 25 is inclined outwardly (away 'from the member'21) and awayfrom the companion lpg 26 so that after the member 21 has been moved-so that ;a portion of the web 10 of each element 3 r enters the corresponding recess 31 and the portions of the member 21 in the region of the lugs 25 are pushed downwardly or toward the elements 3 the inclined edge portions 33w will cooperate with the corresponding edges of the slots '1'2 int0 which the lugs 25 are moving, to guide the lugs 25 into the slots 12 in case of a tight fit. While in Figure 1 space is shownbetween the lug 25 andeach d of-theflslot ,12, in actual practice, the, member 21 will usually be in tension'bctwe'enthe lugs 25 and .26 and theredge 33 of eachlug 25 Will "be vtight against ,therighf hand end of its slot 12 viewing Figure 1. 'As the member 2 1 moves toward the left viewing vFigure 1 the inclinededge 31a of each lug 26. cooperates with the web 10 oflthe corresponding element 3 to draw the member 21 toward the element 3. Thus a very tight and ,firm connection v is vestablished between eachv member '21and the supports S carrying it. a I a t The upper Imemhers 22.215 abut end to end' inj the vertical central plane of the support S as 'shownin Figure BI ,Each of thelmembers22 has a slot 35 re ceiving one of the'lower flanges19; of. the element (has shown in Figure 3,,the members 22 being carried byythe 1flanges19, through the bearing upon theupper'facespf the flanges ofy'portions '36 of the members. Thelmembers 22 may be assembled with the flanges 19 b'y relative -.movement in the direction of the V 'lengfli of the flanges.

aeaoeos Each of the members 22 has projecting upwardly therefrom spaced lugs or a bar 37. The lugs or bar have or has openings or bores 38 therethrough which are in alignment in opposed lugs or bars. Likewise the interposed element 4 has bores therethrough in alignment with the aligned bores 38, and bolts 39 pass through the aligned bores 38 and 20, nuts 40 being applied to the bolts, whereby the members 22 are maintained in assembly with the supports S.

The members 22 have downwardly open slots 41 di rectly above the recesses 24 in the members 21. The members 23 are put in place with their bottoms in the recesses 24 and their tops in the slots 41 as shown in Figure 1. Each member 23 may be inserted generally upwardly into the corresponding slot 41, moved into place with its edges against the elements 2 as shown in Figure 4 and then allowed to drop into the corresponding recess 24. Lugs 42 which may be of generally angle shape with a slot somewhat like the slot 31 of the lugs 26 may be applied to the bracket 13 by insertion into slots 17 thereof as shown in Figures 2 and 4 to hold the members 23 in place. While in Figure 4 space is shown between the inner face of the lug 42 and the outer face of the corresponding member 23, actually the lugs bear against the members 23 and not only hold them in place but resist any tendency for the rearward portions of the members 21 to rise and disengage the lugs from the slots 12. The members 23 are of considerable extent and of generally planar form and subject to deflection. Any desired number of lugs 42 may be employed and it is found in practice that the lugs have sufiicient bearing on or contact with the members 23 to frictionally resist any tendency which may occur in normal use of the furniture for the rearward portions of the members 21 to rise and disengage the lugs 25 from the slots 12.

Any suitable trim, such, for example, as indicated at 43, may be applied to the members 22. In the structure shown the members 22 are hung beneath the elements 4 so as to conceal those elements from the view of persons looking upwardly. If desired the members 22 may be applied to the upper portions of the elements 4,

i.e., in inverted position, and still be held in place by the bolts and nuts 39 and 40.

Our furniture as above described is of relatively simple construction and may be rapidly set up and taken down. At the same time it is strong and rugged and of pleasing appearance.

While we have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may may be otherwise variously embodied Within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. Furniture comprising a support having a web having aligned slots therethrough and a member connected with the support having aligned projecting lugs entering the slots, one of the lugs having a recess inwardly spaced from its outer extremity and facing toward the other lug, the width of the bottom of the recess being at least about as great as the thickness of the web, the distance between the bottom of the recess and the nearer edge of the second mentioned lug being approximately the same as the distance between the adjacent edges of the slots, the recessed lug being first introduced into one of the slots, the member then moved toward the other slot so that a portion of the web enters the recess and the second mentioned lug then introduced into the second mentioned slot, the edge of the recess nearer the outer extremity of the first mentioned lug being inclined outwardly of the lug toward the second mentioned lug so that as the member is moved toward the second mentioned slot the inclined edge of the recess cooperates with the web to draw the member toward the support.

2. Furniture comprising a support having a web having aligned slots therethrough and a member connected with the support having aligned projecting lugs adapted to enter the slots, one of the lugs having a recess inwardly spaced from its outer extremity and facing toward the other lug, the distance between the bottom of the recess and the near edge of the second mentioned lug being approximately the same as the distance between the adjacent edges of the slots, the recessed lug being first introduced into one of the slots, the member then moved toward the other slot so that a portion of the web enters the recess and the second mentioned lug then introduced into the second mentioned slot, the edge of the recess nearer the outer extremity of the first mentioned lug being inclined outwardly of the lug toward the second mentioned lug so that as the member is moved toward the second mentioned slot the inclined edge of the recess cooperates with the web to draw the member toward the support, the outer portion of the edge of the second mentioned lug nearer the first mentioned lug being inclined outwardly and away from the first mentioned lug so that after the member has been moved so that a portion of the web enters the recess and the portion of the member in the region of the second mentioned lug is pushed toward the support the inclined edge portion of the second mentioned lug will cooperate with the corresponding edge of the second mentioned slot to guide the second mentioned lug into the second mentioned slot in case of a tight fit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,322,596 Miano Nov. 25, 1919 1,684,410 Ostram et a1. Sept. 18, 1928 1,734,161 Du Plessis Nov. 5, 1929 1,748,339 Gerberich Feb. 25, 1930 1,806,642 Ohnstrand May 26, 1931 2,003,633 Johnston June 4, 1935 2,193,372 Miller Mar. 12, 1940 2,551,062 Skar May 1, 1951 2,580,334 Vanderveld Dec. 25, 1951 2,643,170 Vanderveld June 23, 1953 2,649,968 Rice Aug. 25, 1953 2,787,382 Williams Apr. 2, 1957

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