US2968059A - Leg hinge for ironing tables - Google Patents

Description

1 Jan- 1 19 1 D. J. MUNSON 2,968,059

I LEG HINGE FOR IRONING TABLES Q Filed April 7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l 4- //0 I II nllll 1]- lllHll'" -||||m|i" 1m] INVENTOR. DONALD J: Mrmsou BY naw Q4 Arrow/am Jan. 17, 1961 D. J. MUNSON 2,968,059

LEG HINGE FOR IRONING TABLES Filed April 7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O LEG HINGE FOR IRONING TABLES 7 Donald J. Munson, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor toThe J. R. Clark Company, Spring Park, Minn., a corpora tion of Minnesota FiledApr.."7, 1958,;Ser; No. 726,914

1 Claim; (61'. 169*].72)

This invention relates generally to: ironing tables and more particularly to means for attaching the table legv eliminating thenecessity of hinge pins, rivets'or the like and enabling the connection to be effected with a minimum of materials and labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge for pivotally connecting an ironing table leg to the table top which. incurs a minimum of operating friction to virtually eliminate part deterioration caused byflexing, twisting or crystallizing such as occurs where hinge pins or rivets; are used. 7

With the above objects in view the invention broadly comprises a transverse element mounted on the underside of the table top and having a plurality of transversely aligned slots therein, an extension on the upper end of the table leg lying under and parallel to said element and having a plurality of aligned teeth extending upwardly therefrom, said teeth having lateral projections whereby as the extension is moved upwardly to insert the teeth into said slots and then shifted laterally the teeth will form an interlocking connection with the element, and a lockingrtongue on the extension adapted to be moved into locking engagement with the element to prohibit return shifting movement of the extension to a position where the teeth may be withdrawn from the slots.

The above mentioned and other objects of the invention will be brought to light during the course of the following specification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a table in erect condition with the legs attached to the table top by the means herein disclosed.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the table with portions of the top broken away for better observation of the hinge connections of the legs to the top.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the top and the upper leg portions.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical section through the top taken along line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the front leg hinge.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings reference characters will be used to denote like parts or structural features in the different views. The table top is denoted generally at 10. It comprises a frame made up of longitudinal members 11 and transverse ribs 12, 13, and 14 connected at their outer ends by a marginal rim 15 and over which lies a sheet 16 of flattened expanded metal or other rigid material adapted to provide a suitable ironing surface.

The front and rear supporting legs are respectively designated at 17 and 18. These legs are in the form of singular metal tubes arranged in a longitudinally crossing relation under the top 10 and being pivotally interconnected as at 19 at their point of crossing. Each leg carries a cross foot 20. at its, lower end for transverse engagement with the floor. The upper ends of legs 17 and 18 are pivotally connected to, the underside of the top 10, one on a sliding pivot, for movement of the legs about their interconnection at 19 between erect and collapsed positions against the top. These pivotal connections will now be described indetail.

The rearmost transverse frame member 14 is an up} Wardly opening channel. The bottom wall of the mejrn her is provided with a series of transversely aligned and spaced slots 21 which extend longitudinally of the channel, Interspaced between two of the slots an enlarged rectangular opening 22' is provided. At its upper end the front leg 17 carries an integral transverseextension 2 4. This extension has a plurality of hinge teeth 25 extending upwardly from the rear upper edge thereof. These teeth are aligned transversely and are spaced for upward insertion through the respective slots 21. Each of the teeth ZShas a lateral projection 26 which. extends over the body of member24 in spaced relation. Accordingly as the teeth are slipped upwardly through the slots 21 andthe member 24 shifted laterally the teeth portions. 26, willv engage over the bottom of channel 14 locking extension member 24 to the channel. Extension 24 also has a locking tongue 27 along its rear edge in transverse alignment with teeth 25. This tongue is formed inthe manufacture to. angle forwardly as in Fig. 5 to allow the extension 24v to be shiftedlaterally during the attachment operation. It" is so positioned intermediate teeth 25 as to be moved into vertical alignment with the opening 22'" when the extension has been shifted laterally to engage projections 26 over the bottom wall of member 14. Tongue 27 is then bent upwardly into the opening 22 to positively lock the extension 24 against return lateral movement relative to member 14 to a position where the teeth 25 may be withdrawn from the slots 21.

The positions of the extension 24 relative to channel 14 before and after the mounting are respectively shown in full and broken lines in Fig. 5. The slots 21 are of sufficient width to allow the teeth 25 rocking movement therein in a fore and aft direction relative to the board. The connection between the members 24 and 14 accordingly provides a fixed hinge connection for folding the leg 17 toward and away from the board about a transverse axis.

The hinge connection for the rear leg 18 is similar to that just described. However, here the construction provides for slidability of the hinge longitudinally of the board 10. A pair of guide rods 28 are mounted to extend longitudinally under the surface member 16 in transversely spaced parallelism by having their ends rigidly secured to the front and center transverse frame members 12 and 13. A slide member 29 in the form of a transversely extending upwardly opening channel has outwardly opening notches 30 formed at the ends of the side walls for reception of the guide rods 28 (Fig. 4). Slide 29 is thus mounted on the rods for fore and aft sliding movement along the underside of the top 10. A latch bar 31 is connected to the member 29 and extends forwardly through an opening in the frame member 12. The bar is provided with a series of openings 32 which are engageable by a I spring held locking element 33 mounted on member 12 upwardly from the extension 35 and having lateral projections 38 adapted to extend over the bottom wall of member 29 when the extension is laterally shifted (Fig. 4). Slide 29 is provided with an opening 39, similar to opening 22, intermediate the slots 36 through which the locking tongue 40 on extension 35 may be bent upwardly to lock the extension against lateral movement.

Projections 26 and 38 extend in the same lateral direction allowing the members 24 and 35 of the preassembled leg structure to be placed into position and shifted simultaneously into operative position prior to the upward bending of the locking tongues 27 and 40. There is, of course, sufiicient clearance in slots 36 to allow the teeth 37 fore and aft rocking movement. Slots 21 and slots 36 are parallel so that the axis of the two hinges formed are parallel.

It will be understood that the axis of pivot 19 is parallel to the two hinge axes connecting the legs to the table top so that as the slide 29 is moved forwardly the legs will pivot about their hinges and pivot 19 to a collapsed position against the underside of the top. Conversely, as the slide is moved rearwardly the legs will swing to an erected condition.

The hinges formed by the teeth locking over the connected channel bottoms are extremely simple to manufacture and assemble. Moreover they are durable and of such simplicity as to render mechanical failure virtually impossible. The hinge construction thus economically and eifectively carries out the aforementioned objectives.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claim. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A hinge construction comprising a first element having a portion of sheet material provided with a series of elongated slots arranged in longitudinal alignment, a second element having a series of spaced fiat teeth projecting outwardly therefrom in alignment on a common plane, said teeth being spaced apart equally with the spacing of the slots and each having a dimension longitudinally of their alignment which is less than the length of the slots allowing the teeth to be inserted into the respective slots in the first element, the teeth having planar unidirectional projections at their extended ends adapted to hook behind said sheet material when the second element is shifted longitudinally of the slots after such insertion to hold the elements together against separation in a relatively swingable condition about an axis extending along said slots, said first element portion having an opening aligned with the slots which is wider than the slots crosswise of the direction of such alignment, and said second element having a locking tab extending therefrom which is aligned with the teeth and movable between an inner position and an extended position, said tab positioned on said element longitudinally of the teeth to oppose the said opening in the first element after said longitudinal shifting to enter said opening when moved to its extended position to lock said second element against return shifting movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 932,601 Corbett Aug. 31, 1909 1,159,995 Riley et a1. Nov. 9, 1915 1,831,988 Aldeen Nov, 17, 1931 2,332,017 Sedgwick Oct. 19, 1943 2,737,739 Hood Mar. 13, 1956

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