US3027210A - Tensioned web furniture construction - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1962 c. EAMES ETAL TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 29, 1958 1NVENTOR5 (A/4P4 5 44455 PETE/6 1 new? ATTORNEY-S March 27, 1962 c. EAMES ETAL TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION INVENTORS (64,94 55 44455 PA /'6? 2 PZ/(Z ATTOR/VE Y5 Filed Sept. 29, 1958 March 27, 1962 Q EAMES ETAL 3,027,210

TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 23. 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 1' INVENTOR5 March 27, 1962 c. EAMES ETAL 3,027,210 TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE cousuraucnou Filed Sept. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR5 Y/flft E5 54/1455 P571632 2 pre BY I4 7 TORNEYS March 27, 1962 c. EAMES ETAL 3,027,210

TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. -16.

2 a?) 7 70 "i V 2 IO? N h 1 If)! k 88 INVENTORS awe; 65 6/9/1455 90 76762 n elts 9O 2 BY Fig -/6 /W 21W ATTORNEYS C. EAMES ETAL TENSIONED WEB FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION March 27, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 29, 1958 INVENTOR5 644F165 44455 PETEEP. PI E BY 7 M ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofilice 3,027,210 Patented Mar. 27, 1$62 3,027,210 TENSIONED WEB FURNHTURE CONSTRUQTION Charles Eames, Venice, Calif, and Peter P. Price, Grand Rapids, Mich.; said Price assignor to Herman Miller, Inc., a corporation of Michigan Filed Sept. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 763,851 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-6) This application relates to furniture and more particularly to a new construction for case goods type furniture or other furniture having large vertical panel areas employing a skeleton type supporting frame over which a flexible web is stretched under tension.

In the construction of furniture of the case goods type such as chests, bureaus, night stands, and buffets, it is conventional practice to use side and back panels. These are normally of wood and are finished with a filler, a stain and a protective film such as a lacquer. Because of the nature of the materials used, it is necessary that this furniture be erected at the factory and shipped fully assembled. Thereafter these panels cannot be changed without undertaking such a rework operation that its cost is substantially equal to the initial cost of the furniture.

It is the object of this invention to provide a furniture construction wherein the structural features of the furniture are confined to a skeleton type frame having nothing to do with the ornamental exterior panels which impart to the furniture its finished appearance and style. This latter is supplied not by rigid panels but by a web of flexible material such as fabric of synthetic or natural material. This web is secured to the frame and during installation is placed under tension either horizontally about the furniture or alternately in a vertical direction from the top to the bottom of the furniture. The web serves only as a means of enclosure and of ornamenting the unit. Its function in this regard is divorced entirely or substantially entirely from the function of structurally supporting the furniture which is assigned to the frame.

This construction has a number of advantages. It permits a substantial reduction in the cost of making the furniture. The area of wood paneling, which must be carefully fitted and finished, is substantially reduced if not eliminated. The finishingof wood surfaces is a slow and costly procedure. Since the frame can be divorced from the enclosing medium, the frame may be shipped as a series of flat subassernblies or it may be shipped completely disassembled. In this condition the frame may be shipped in a very small and compact package occupying but a minor fraction of the area occupied by the conventional factory assembled unit of case goods. The enclosing web may be simply rolled up like a piece of cloth or carpet and shipped as a tube. This also is very compact.

From the point of view of the user, furniture of this construction has a number of advantages. Since the web or ornamental portion of the unit is divorced from the structural feature of the furniture, its design may be tailored to style requirements without the usual compromise between style and structure necessary in conventional constructions. Further, a single frame design may be employed for a number of units of furniture with the style, color and appearance of the furniture being varied through a wide range merely by proper selection of the nature and type of surfacing material used on the web and the treatment given to this surface. The webs used With this type of furniture are adapted to a Wide latitude of colors, materials, textures and surface configuration. Thus, *by maintaining a number of web styles a single unit of furniture may be given something closely approaching a custom style appearance without in any way affecting the basic structure of the unit. Further, this selection of external appearance may be done by the buyer at the point of purchase rather than necessitating its incorporation in the furniture at the point of manufacture. A purchaser selects the frame structure desired and then chooses the web from a selection of materials, colors, textures and surface configurations making his selection on the basis of his own personal desires and requirements.

After the furniture has been in use by the ultimate purchaser the tensioned web construction has marked advantages. Should the Web be damaged or become so soiled that it cannot be properly cleaned, it is capable of quick and comparatively inexpensive replacement. Furniture constructed according to this principle is of lighter weight and therefore readily portable. When the user has to move the furniture from one location to another it may be quickly disassembled thus reducing the cost of moving. When it is necessary to store the furniture, since it may be stored in disassembled condition and thus in compact form, the cost of storage is materially reduced.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be understood by those acquainted with the design and construction of furniture upon reading the following specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 through 5 schematically illustrate the erection of a unit of furniture incorporating this invention wherein the exterior Web is placed under horizontal tension.

FIGS. 6 through 9 schematically illustrate the erection of a unit of furniture incorporating this invention wherein the exterior web is placed under vertical tension.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary exploded oblique view of the rear corner of a unit of furniture employing the horizontally tensioned web.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary exploded oblique view of the front corner of a unit of furniture employing the horizontally tensioned web.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary oblique view of one side and a portion of the back of a unit of furniture employing the horizontally tensioned web.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the front post of the frame taken along the plane XIIIXHi of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary oblique exploded view of the rear corner of a unit of furniture employing the vertically tensioned web.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary exploded oblique view of the front corner of a unit of furniture employing a vertically tensioned web.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary oblique view of one side and a portion of the back of a unit of furniture employing the vertically tensioned web.

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the plane XVII-XVII of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a sectional elevation view taken along the plane XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary oblique view of a side and a portion of the back of a unit of furniture employing a modified construction for furniture having a vertically tensioned web.

In executing the objects and there are provided rigid top and bottom panels designed to support a frame. The frame constitutes the entire vertical supporting structure for the furniture and is of skeleton construction. In that form of this invention employing the horizontal tensioning of the web, the frame portions constituting the sides of the unit have means for attachment of the ends of the web while they are swung back partially behind the frame sectionmaking up the back of the unit. The web is shorter than the combined lengths of the sides and the back whereby as the sides are pivoted into their assembled positions the Web is stretched and thus placed under horizontal tension. The frame is secured by attachment to the rigid top'and botpurposes of this invention,

tom panels which Serve both as a portion of the main structure of the furniture and as an indexing means for the sides when they are brought into final position. In the construction utilizing vertical tension, the web is placed around the unit and secured to the top and bottom. The frame is then by suitable means such as a series of screws or toggles expanded vertically, placing the web under tension. In both cases, in the assembled furniture the web is drawn tightly about the frame thus assuring a smooth exterior appearance.

Referring specifically to FIG. 5, a unit of furniture employing the horizontally tensioned web construction has a rigid top 1 and a rigid bottom 2. These may be of any suitable material such as plywood and may have a hollow, solid or composite core and may be finished in any manner suitable for the surroundings in which the furniture is to be used. The legs 3 are secured to the bottom panel 2 permitting it to stand independently on the floor. The

top panel 1 is spaced from the bottom 2 and is supported entirely by the frame 4 which has a pair of side panels 5 and a back panel 6. This frame is of skeleton construction consisting only of top and bottom members, end vertical posts and such intermediate cross bracing as is necessary to give the furniture rigidity. Surrounding the back and sides of the unit of furniture and enclosing the frame 4 is a flexible and at least to a slight degree a resilient web 7. The interior of the unit may be completed in any desired manner such as by the incorporation of shelves 8 and the front closed by suitable means such as the doors 9.

Now referring to FIG. 12 wherein the frame structure for the horizontally tensioned web construction is illustrated it will be seen that the side and rear panels 5 and 6 are of generally similar construction. The side panels 5 of the frame have a top or upper angle member 10 and a lower angle member 11. The top and bottom angle members 10 and 11 are so positioned that their horizontal legs 12 and 13 seat under the top panel s1 and over the bottom panel 2. The forward ends the top and bottom members 10 and 11 of the side panel 5 are joined by a front post 14. The front post is joined to the top angle member 10 by rivets 15 and to the bottom angle 11 by rivets 16 (FIG. 11). Threaded fasteners may be substituted for the rivets. The top and bottom angle members 10 and 11 of the side panel 5 are jointed at their rear ends by a corner post 17 which is shared in common with the adjacent end of the rear panel 6. The angle members 10 and 11 are also joined intermediate the front post 14 and the corner post 17 be a diagonal brace 18 (FIG. 12) which serves as a stabilizer for the frame.

The rear panel 6 is very similar in construction to the end panels 5 having a top angle member 19 and a lower angle member 20. The top angle member 19 has a horizontal flange 21 and the lower angle member has a horizontal flange 22. The flanges 21 and 22 are so located that they seat under the top panel 1 and on top of the bottom panel 2, respectively. The angle members 19 and are joined intermediate their ends by one or more diagonal braces 23, serving as frame stabilizers.

The rear corner post 17 consists of a tube having a centering bushing 31 secured in each end (FIG. 10). The centering bushings may be secured by any suitable means such as a press fit or by staking since their only purpose is to center the tie bolt 32 within the tube 30. The tube 30 serves as a spacer between the upper and lower portions of the frame. The horizontal flanges 12 and 21 of the top angles 10 and 19 of the side and rear frame extend over the tube 30 and each has a hole 33 to permit the bolt 32 to pass through. Similar holes 34 are provided in the ends of the lower angle members 11 and 2t).

The corner is assembled by passing the bolt 32 upwardly through the holes 34, the lower centering bushing 31, tube 30, the upper centering bushing 31, and holes 33. Its upward movement is limited by the head 35 which bears against the lower angle. The bolt is secured by a washer 36 and a nut 37. It will be noted that the upper panel 1 on its under side has a shallow recess 38 for reception of the nut 37. A similar recess is provided in the top surface of the bottom panel 2. When the frame has been finally assembled and positioned with respect to the top and bottom panels 1 and 2, it is secured to them by screws 39 and 40 respectively.

PEG. ll iilustrates the construction at the front corner. This is comprised principally of the front post 14. The front post is of a complex configuration having a channel 5%, a side flange 51 and a hinge flange 52 (FIG. 13). The upper and lower angle members 10 and 11 are secured to the ends of the side flange 5 (FIG. 11). Adjacent the corner post 14, holes are provided in the horizontal flanges of the upper and lower angles 10 and 11 for reception of the screws 53 and 54, respectively. These screws also attach the front end of the side panels of the frame to the top 1 and bottom 2. Door panels, when desired, may be secured to the frame after it has been fastened into place by attaching the hinges 55 of the door 9 to the door flange 52 of the front post 14 (F108. 11 and 12). The front posts 14 on each side of the unit of furniture are identical, as are the rear corner posts 17.

The exterior surface of the frame is enclosed by a flexible web 7. The ends of the flexible web are secured to the front post 14. For this purpose, each end of the webhas a non-crushable stiffener member 57 incorporated into it (FIG. 13). That portion of the web incorporating the stiffener 57 is seated in the web channel 5t) of the front post 14. By reason of the presence of the stiifener 57 and the fact that the web is wrapped about the front post immediately adjacent the web channel 50, the tension applied to the web cannot disengage it from the front post even though no conventional fasteners are used as a means of attachment. The web is a continuous member extending from one front post to the other and forms, as a single integral unit, a pair of side panels and a back panel. The height of the web 7 is such that its lower edge reaches the bottom of the bottom panel 2 and its upper edge comes at least to the lower surface of the top panel 1. It will be recognized that this may be varied so that the upper edge of the web extends to the top surface of the top panel 1. It may even extend above that.

Erection of Furniture Having Horizontally Tensioned Web For the purpose of erecting the unit of furniture illustrated in FTGS. 1 through 5, the legs 3 are first secured to the bottom panel. These legs are entirely independent of the frame structure and accordingly, are capable of making the bottom panel 2 a stable platform upon which to complete the erection of the furniture. The frame may be shipped either completely assembled, as subassemblies or completely disassembled.

If disassembled, it may be erected by securing the upper and lower angles '10 and 11 of the side panels to the ends of the upper and lower angles 19 and 20' of the back panel. This is done by aligning the tube 30 with the holes 34 and 33 and installing the bolt 32. This structure provides a hinged joint at each of the back corners. The front post 14 may then be assembled to the frame by installation of the rivets 15 and 16. It will be recognized that where assembly is to be done other than at the point of manufacture, suitable threaded fasteners may be substituted for the rivets. The flexible covering web 7 is then assembled to the frame While the frame has the side panels 5 pivoted to an angular position behind the back panel 6 (FIG. 2). This is necessary to permit easy attachment of the web since the web itself is shorter than the combined lengths of the two side panels 5 and the back panel 6. For attachment of the web 7 its reinforced edges containing the stiffener 57 (FIG. 13) are inserted in the anchoring channels 50 of the two front posts 14.

The construction of a suitable web for this purpose is described in my co-pending application Serial No. 804,992, filed April 8, 1959, and entitled Demountable, Furniture Web Construction. The means of assembly of the web to the channel 55) of the front post 14 is described in my co-pending application Serial No. 764,059, filed September 29, 1958, and entitled Web and Spreader Furniture Construction.

Either before or after the Web is secured to the frame, the frame is placed on the platform or bottom panel 2 and is secured to the platform by installation of the screws 4i! (FIG. 10) securing the lower angle 2! of the rear panel to the platform. The end panels 5 are then swung forwardly as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As the end panels are pivoted into position, the web 7 is stretched, placing it under horizontal tension. The end panels are swung around until they line up with the edges of the bottom panel 2 where they are secured to the bottom panel by installation of the screws 54 (FIG. ll) and screws 45) (FiG. 10).

The top panel 1 is now lifted into position and seated on the frame. It seats within the area defined by the vertical legs of the upper channels 18 and 19 of the end and rear panel. It rests upon the horizontal flanges of these angles. The top panel is now secured to the frame by installation of the screws 53 at the front end of the upper angle of the side panels (FIG. 11) and the screws 39st the rear of this angle. The top panel is further secured by the installation of the screws 61 (FIGS. 10 and 12) securing the upper angle 19 of the back panel to the top.

The diagonal supports 18 and 23 may be assembled to the frame before it is secured to the bottom panel 2. Alternately, they may be installed after the frame has been erected and secured to the upper and lower panels. in this latter case rather than being riveted to the angles, they would be secured by screws extending through the upper and lower angles of the frames into the top and bottom panels 1 and 2.

The doors 9 for closing the front of the unit may now be installed by securing the hoor hinges 55 to the hinge flange 52 0f the corner posts 14 (FIG. ll). It will be recognized that where the unit is to employ drawers rather than doors, suitable drawer runner structure may be secured to the front post using the same holes as those employed for the hinges. Attachment of the drawer supports may be made to the rear posts 17 by suitable clamping means surrounding the post or by securing to the post suitable shelf bracket type supporting means. This phase of the completion of the furniture is not considered a part of this invention and is merely mentioned here for the purpose of illustrating the fact that the furniture is adapted to various types of uses.

Vertically Stretched Web Construction FIGS. 14 through 18 illustrate this invention Where the web is stretched or tensioned vertically rather than horizontally. In this case the frame has rigid corners since it is not necessary to hinge or pivot the side panels with relation to the back panels.

The back corner consists of a rear post 79 having a top bracket 71 and a bottom bracket 72. Each of the brackets have projecting flanges 73 and 74 respectively. The flanges 73 of the top bracket are arranged at a right angle to each other. The same is true of the flanges 74- of the bottom bracket 72. The brackets 71 and 72 each have a tubular socket. The socket 75 of the lower bracket 72 is internally threaded to receive the threaded end 69 of the column member 76. The socket 77 of the upper bracket 71 is, as best illustrated in FIG. 18, of reduced internal diameter in its lower portion providing a shoulder 78. The upper end of the tubular column 76 has a radially projecting collar 79 resting against the shoulder 78. After the tubular column 76 has been assembled to the bracket 71 a stop plate 80 is press fitted into the upper end of the socket, thus securing the column 76 to the upper bracket 71 so that it may not shift vertically with relation to the bracket but may be rotated. The brackets 71 and 72 each have cars 81 for attachment of the diagonal braces 82 and 33.

The flanges 73 of the upper bracket 71 provide seats for the horizontal leg of the upper angle members 85 and 36 of the end and back frames respectively. The upper bracket 1 is secured to the angles 85 by screws 87 and to the angle 86 by screws 96. The screws 8'7 and 96 also secure the top panel 1 to the frame as best illustrated in FIG. 14. The lower or bottom bracket 72 seats upon the horizontal flange of the lower angle members 88 and 89 of the end and rear frames respectively. The bracket '72 is secured to these frame members by screws which extend through the frame members and into the bottom panel 2.

A forward post 91 is provided adjacent the front terminus of the end panels. The forward post 91 is very similar to the rear post 70 having a tubular column 92 identical to the column 76 and a top bracket 93 and a bottom bracket 94. The bottom bracket is internally threaded to receive the threaded lower end of the column 9-2. The bottom bracket 94 is identical to the bottom bracket 72 except that its flanges 95 are aligned rather than at right angles to each other. The top bracket 93 is identical to the rear top bracket 71 except that its flanges 97 are aligned. The tubular column 92 is secured to the top bracket 93 in the same manner.

Projecting upwardly from the flange of the lower bracket 94- is pillar 93 (FIG. 15 A pillar 99 of similar construction depends from the upper bracket 93. These pillars slip into the ends of and secure the hinge post 1%. The hinge post 1% is identical to the front post 14 illustrated in FIGS. ll, 12 and 13. The pillars permit vertical expansion and contraction of the frame with respect to the hinge post 103.

The upper bracket 93 is secured to the upper angle member 35 and to the top panel 1 by screws itil (FIG. 15). The lower bracket 94 is secured to the lower angle member 38 and to the lower panel 2 by screws Hi2. Stability is afforded the frame by suitable diagonal braces 82 extending between the front and rear brackets of the posts 9i and 70 and secured to the ears on the brackets. Similar diagonal bracing is provided for the rear panel but in this case preferably two of them provided with the upper attachment being made to the upper angle 86 adjacent its center. Because of the vertical adjustment of the frame to provide tension, these diagonals have elongated openings at their upper and lower ends. To assure positive attachment to the frame, the surface of the brackets surrounding the openings 115 may be knurled to eliminate loosening of the fasteners securing the diagonals to the brackets.

The vertical flange 163 of the upper angle 85 and the vertical flange 164 of the upper angle 36 both extend upwardly and are spaced outwardly from the adjacent edge of the top panel 1 (FIG. 17). As shown in FIG. 17 this angle may be concealed by having a portion of the top extend over the channel created by the spacing of the flanges 14M and 106. This may be done by rabbeting the top to produce the perimeter notches 195. This, however, is not essential to the invention.

The vertical legs 1% and 107 of the lower angles 83 and 39, respectively project downwardly and, as in the case of the top, are spaced from the edge of the bottom panel 2. This spacing provides a pocket for reception of the edge of the web 712. The web 7:: is similar in most respects to the web 7 used for the horizontal stretching construction. However in the case of the web 7a the top and bottom edges are provided with a stiffener 188 (FIG. 17) similar to the stiffen-er provided on the ends of the web 7. Thus, when the edge of the web together with the stiffener M33 is seated in the channel formed by the flanges 193, 104, 1136 and 197 the web is secured to the frame. The ends of the web may be provided with similar stiffness so that it may be seated in the web channel of the hinged post flit) on each side of the front openings.

Assembly and Erection of Vertically Tensioned Web In this type of construction, the frame is erected on the bottom panel 2 which provides a support and work platform for doing this job. To this end, the angles 88 and 89 are seated on the bottom panel and the lower brackets 72 and 94 secured both to the angles and to the bottom panel. Because of the vertical tension to be applied subsequently to the angles 83 and 89' they are secured to the bottom panel by screws in the area between the brackets to afford them further support. The angles 85 and 86 are secured to the top panel. The tubular columns '76 and 92 are next mounted to their respective lower brackets together with the assembled top brackets 71 and 93. As this is done, the hinge post is placed in position and engaged by the upper and lower supporting pillars 93 and 99. With the posts 7% and 92 turned down to minimum height, the Web 7a is mounted on the unit. Where the top is rabbeted as illustrated in FIG. 17 the web must be mounted before the top is secured to the frame. However, where this rabbeting is not utilized this may be done after the top has been secured to the frame.

After the web has been secured along its top and bottom edges and its ends have been secured to the hinge post 160, the threaded tubular columns 76 and 92 are rotated by any suitable means such as a pin inserted through the holes provided for the purpose. This causes the front and rear posts 91 and 70 to extend in length placing the web 7a under vertical tension. Sufficient tension is applied to the web 7a to assure a neat, smooth and attractive external appearance. When the web has been positively tensioned to the desired degree the diagonals $2 and 83 may be installed or if previously installed they should be firmly secured at their ends to afford the unit adequate rigidity.

After the proper tension has been applied to the web 7a the doors 111 or other equipment to close the front of the unit may be installed. As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 1 6, the doors 111 are attached by securing their hinges 112 to the hinge flange 52 of the hinge post 100. The assembly and tensioning of the web in this case is illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 9.

MG. 19 illustrates a modification of this invention employing the vertically tensioned web. In this construction the frame is basically identical to the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 16 except that the front and rear tubular columns 92 and 76 are not threaded to their respective lower brackets 94 and 72. Preferably they are slidably received into the lower brackets.

The vertical extension of the frame is accomplished by means of toggles one being provided adjacent the forward post 91a and two adjacent each of the rear posts 79a. As the web 7a is originally assembled to the frame, the toggles are open as indicated in phantom in FIG. 19. After the web has been secured to the frame the toggles are passed over center. This raises the top with respect to the bottom, and after passing center, they lock against their adjacent posts. This stretches the web and positively prevents the top from shifting toward the bottom since the toggles cannot move because of the interference with the adjacent post. If it is desired to positively lock the toggles in this position, this may be done by the use of clips or the like locking them to the posts.

It will be seen that this invention provides a type of furniture construction adapting case goods for the first time to complete disassembled shipment and storage. It

also permits the surfacing materials such as the web to be quickly and easily changed or to be selected as the customer desires from a wide variety of such webs maintained and stocked.

The web may be of any suitable construction. It may consist of a woven fabric of synthetic or natural fibers. it may consist of a sheet of synthetic material such as a polyvinyl chloride. It may be of a laminated structure consisting of several materials of the type shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 804,992, filed April 8, 1959, and entitled Demountable, Furniture Web Construction. The web may be plain or it may have surface ornamentation such as a textured pattern, quilting or vertical or horizontal lines. The web may be made in a single or in a plurality of colors. The important point is the web configuration and appearance is completely divorced from the structural necessities of the unit and thus various styles and ornamentations may be applied to the web while a single standardized frame structure is employed for a large number of furniture units. The styling of the furniture resulting from the web design, configuration and materials selected has no affect upon the manufacture of the frame and, thus, the frames are capable of mass production even though the ultimate furniture has a custom appearance.

While there has been described two basic constructions of this invention, together with a modification of one of them, it will be recognized that other modifications may be made within the spirit of this invention. Such of these modifications as incorporate the principles of the invention are to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

A unit of furniture of the case goods type having a plurality of generally vertical standing frame members pivotally joined to each other and formable into a configuration having length, width and depth, the end frame members at the extremities of said plurality being collapsible upon intermediate frame members and extendible into said configuration; a web of stretchable flexible material having a stiffener in each of its ends; said web being wrapped partially about each of said end frame members and said ends and said stiffeners being seated in a slot in each of said extreme frame members and binding with the walls of said slot when said web is placed under tension; said web being of a length less than that of said plurality of frame members in the extended position, the extension of said extreme frame members from the collapsed position into a configuration placing said web under tension; a rigid top secured to the upper ends of said frame members; a rigid bottom secured to the lower ends of said frame members; the lower outer edge of said top being undercut to receive said frame and the upper edge of said web; flange means on at least one of said extreme frame members for hingedly receiving a door closure; and a door closure secured thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent Great Britain Dec. 22, 1948

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