US3220366A

US3220366A - Method of packaging and package arrangement

Info

Publication number: US3220366A
Application number: US321890A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry F Thompson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-11-06
Filing date: 1963-11-06
Publication date: 1965-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-30

Description

1965 H. F. THOMPSON 3,

METHOD OF PACKAGING AND PACKAGE ARRANGEMENT Filed Nov. 6, 1963 7 4 Z3 36 265055 Z Z United States Patent 3,220,366 METHOD OF PACKAGING AND PACKAGE ARRANGEMENT Henry F. Thompson, 1616 E. 50th Place, Chicago, Ill. Filed Nov. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 321,890 4 Claims. (Cl. 108-161) This invention relates in general to the burgeoning do-it-yourself business. More particularly, it relates to a prefabricated dinette table. The invention deals specifically with a new and improved method of packing and a packing arrangement for a prefabricated dinette table.

The conventional kitchen dinette table comprises a sectioned table top having a plasticized upper surface. Two end sections of the top ordinarily separate on slides secured to their undersides and receive a leaf section for enlarging the size of the table. Four legs are appropriately secured to the underside of the table adjacent its corners and are rigidified with suitable braces. The table is conventionally sold by a furniture supply house in completely assembled form or, by a manufacturer or the like, broken down to the extent that the legs and braces are removed while the sectioned table top is shipped intact with the leaf installed in table.

The foregoing arrangement is not readily suited for the cash-and-carry retail customer, of course, since it is virtually impossible for him to transport the table completely assembled and, the top of the table itself is too unwieldy to permit easy handling even if it is broken down. Accordingly, it has heretofore been impossible to market such a salable item as the dinette table in supermarkets or cash and carry discount houses, for examples.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of packing a prefabricated dinette table.

It is another object to provide a method of the aforedescribed character which facilitates rapid packing, unpacking, and assembly of the dinette table.

It is yet another object to provide a new and improved packing arrangement for a prefabricated dinette table.

It is yet another object to provide a packing arrangement of the aforedescribed character which is so small and light as to be easily transportable by a relatively slight person.

The foregoing and other objects are realized in accord with the present invention by providing a new and improved method of packing and a packing arrangement for a prefabricated dinette table. The method contemplates breaking the table down into its various components, including the sectioned table top. The top is, in turn, broken down into its two end sections and the leaf section; the leaf section being partitioned adjacent its mid-point and arranged for packing purposes with the apron of one half overlapping the narrow raw edge of the other half.

The various components of the prefabricated dinette table, excluding the top end sections themselves, are then placed in predetermined arrangement on the underside of one of the table top sections, entirely within the confines of the perimeter of the section. In this predetermined arrangement, which embodies features of the present invention, the dimensional thickness of the components stored on the underside of one of the table top end sections is so small as to permit the other section to be placed on the first table top section in mirror relationship so that the depending aprons conventionally provided on such table top sections substantially meet and establish a closed package arrangement. The package arrangement is of the order of three and a half inches thick, is thirty inches wide, and twenty inches high. It weighs approximately thirty-two pounds and, accordingly, it is easily carried by a single person.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, taken with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from the top of a dinette table of the type in question, with the leaf section removed and partially folded on its hinges.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the dinette table illustrated in FIGURE 1, disposed in a packing arrangement embodying features of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a completely packaged dinette table;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the various components of the dinette table, some of them packaged, according to the present invention on the underside of one section of the dinette table;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 with the table in the latter stages of packaging;

FIGURE 6 is an end elevational view of the packaging arrangement completed by placing the other table top section in mirror relationship over the section illustrated in FIGURE 4; and,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the leg mounting bracket utilized in the table.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, a broadly conventional dinette table is illustrated at 10. The table 10 is conventional in that it is composed of the same components which make up the dinette tables of this general type sold in furniture stores, for example, in assembled form, with the exception of certain simple modifications which facilitate and are according to the present invention.

The table 10 packaged according to the present invention is illustrated at 11 in FIGURES 2 and 3. The package arrangement 11 includes the table 10, arranged according to the method embodying features of the present invention, enclosed by a corrugated cardboard carton 12 which is thirty inches long, twenty inches high, and three and a half inches wide. The entire package arrangement 11 including table and carton 12 weighs only thirty-two pounds. The size and weight of the package arrangement facilitates easy transportation by a single person under his arm, for example, as will be recognized.

Referring once more to FIGURE 1, the table 10 will be seen to include an identical pair of

top end sections

20 and 21. Each end section includes a fiberboard base 22 having a plasticized upper surface 23 thereon (see FIG- URES 4 and 6). The end sections are preferably threefourths of an inch thick. An apron 24 depends from three sides of the fiberboard base 22 for a distance of one inch below the edge of the bottom surface 25 of the base 22. One edge 26 of each base 22 is bare, of course.

Each

end section

20 and 21 is twenty inches long by thirty inches wide. This is a standard length and width, of course. The overall depth of each end section, including the apron 24, is one and three-fourths inches. As will hereinafter be discussed in detail, the dimensions of the table referred to above are broadly pertinent to the present invention.

The two

top end sections

20 and 21 of the table 10 are joined by a pair of

slide assemblies

30 and 31, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The

slide assemblies

30 and 31 are identical in construction and each is secured to the bottom surface 25 of a corresponding base 22 by selftapping screws. The construction of each of the

slide assemblies

30 and 31 is broadly conventional; each assembly comprising

telescoping members

33 and 34. A stop (not shown) is provided between the

members

33 and 34 to make them expansible only to a certain point and prevent complete parting of the

end sections

20 and 21 when the table is in use.

The top end sections and 21 are slidable on the slide assemblies and 31 into immediately adjacent relationship wherein a table top forty inches long and thirty inches wide is provided. In turn, the

top end sections

20 and 21 are readily separable on the

slide assemblies

30 and 31 to facilitate insertion of the leaf section 40. The leaf section is eight inches wide and thirty inches long.

The leaf section 40 includes two fiberboard base members 41 connected by three hinges 43. The base members 41 have plasticized upper surfaces 44, of course, and depending sections of apron are of the same length as the apron 24 on each of the

top end sections

20 and 21.

To facilitate folding and storage of the leaf section 40 when in household use, the base members 41 are joined by the hinge assemblies 43 at a point one-eighth inch to one side of the center of the leaf section 40. Accordingly, the oppositely disposed pieces of apron 45 nest within each other when the section 40 is folded. The hinge assemblies 43 are secured to the bottom surface of the fiberboard pieces 41 by conventional self-tapping screws.

The leaf section 40 is adapted to expand the length of the table 10 from 40 to 48 inches, as would be expected. The leaf section 40 is held firmly in position between the

top end sections

20 and 21 by pins secured to the bottom surface of the fiberboard base members 41; the pins 50 and 51 being slidably received in brackets 52 and 53 provided on

corresponding end sections

20 and 21. In addition to the relationship between the aforementioned pins and the brackets, laterally spaced tongues 57 are afiixed to the bottom surface of the base members 41, as illustrated, and are adapted to underlie a corresponding raw edge 26 of the

appropriate end section

20 or 21. Furthermore, identical tongues 60 are secured, as illustrated, to the bottom surface 25 of

corresponding end sections

20 and 21 and are adapted to underlie the bottom surface of the leaf section 40. With the

end sections

20 and 21 pushed tightly together against the leaf section 40, the leaf section 40 is thus firmly held in flush relationship with the

end sections

20 and 21, the

plastic surfaces

44 and 23 being coextens1ve.

Supporting the table 10 are its legs 65, as will be recognized. Each of the legs is a slightly tapered steel tube having its largest diameter (one and one-eighth inches) at its upper end, and a nonskid boot (not shown) formed of rubber or plastic or the like slipped over its lower end. The upper ends of each of the legs seat in socket brackets (See FIGURE 7) secured in appropriately displaced relationship on the bottom surfaces 25 of the fiberboard bases 22 in the

top end sections

20 and 21, adjacent the corners thereof, by conventional self-tapping screws. The upper ends 66 of the legs slip into the socket portion 77 of the brackets 75; and there are retained by clamping screws 78. The brackets 75 are approximately one and one-eighth inches high.

Each of the legs 65 is approximately 28 inches long, according to the invention; a suitable length for providing optimum table height in use, for example. Generally V-shaped leg braces 85, each about a foot in overall length, brace corresponding legs 65 against the bottom surface 25 of corresponding

top end sections

20 and 21. This is accomplished in a conventional manner by appropriate screw fasteners and self-tapping screws. The braces are preferably formed of one-eighth inch steel rod or the like.

According to the present invention the aforedescribed table 10 is readily disposed in the package arrangement 11 embodying features of the present invention by the method of the present invention. The prescribed packing method assumes that the table 10 is broken into the various components hereinbefore discussed, of course, as it would come from the manufacturer. To facilitate assembly, however, it is important that tapping of holes for receiving the self-tapping screws for the various brackets, braces, tongues, and slide assemblies, and the like, be accomplished. It is also contemplated that a printed full size diagram (not shown) be affixed to the undersides of each end section and leaf section to facilitate assembly.

With the entire table 10 componentized, including the leaf section 40 separated at its hinge assemblies 43, one of the end sections 20 or 21 (let us say 20 in this case) is placed upside down with its bottom surface 25 facing upwardly, on a supporting means. The two base members 41 of the leaf section 40 are placed bottom surface to bottom surface in overlapping relationship with their aprons 45 overhanging and, accordingly, form a generally rectangular component, fifteen and one-eighth inches long, eight inches wide, and one and one-half inches thick. This component is seated in the center of the bottom surface 25 on the top end section 20, as illustrated in FIGURE 4, with its major axis aligned with the major axis of the top end section 20. A cardboard band is placed over the leaf section component and stapled to the bottom surface 25 to hold the member securely against the bottom surface. Adhesived buffer patches 96 are then placed in the four corners of the upwardly facing plastic surface 44 to prevent scuffing of the plastic surface 45 by the other top end section 21 when it is placed in sandwiching relationship to complete the package arrangement 11.

In the next step, the legs 65 are preferably wrapped in suitable wrapping paper and placed on its bottom surface 25 in bracketing relationship with the leaf section component and, in longitudinally disposed relationship with the end section 20. A pair of legs 65 are seated on each side of the folded leaf section 40. Somewhat narrower cardboard bands 100 are then stapled over the opposite ends of corresponding pairs of legs 65 (as illustrated in FIGURE 5). These bands are stapled to the bottom surface 25 of the end section 20 and, accordingly, securely hold the legs 65 against the bottom surface. The legs fit within the confines of the apron 24 since they are twentyeight inches long, less than thirty inches, of course.

In the next step, the slide assemblies 30 are telescoped together as much as possible and stapled to the bottom surface 25 in bracketing relationship with the secured legs 65, as also illustrated in FIGURE 4. The slide assemblies 30 are appropriately stapled to the bottom surface 25 through any of the holes 100 formed in the assemblies for ordinarily receiving the self-tapping screws.

In the following procedure, all the hardware utilized in assembling the table 10; the socket brackets 75, the braces 85, the tongues and pins, the brackets 52 and 53 and the various self-tapping screws, are divided between two flat packages which are approximately eight inches long and six inches wide. As previously pointed out, the largest pieces of hardware (the socket brackets 75) are just one and one-eighth inches high. Accordingly, the package 105 itself is no thicker than about one and one-half inches at points where the brackets 75 are.

In the next step, the braces 85, which are composed of approximately one-fourth inch rod, as has been pointed out, are placed in overlapping relationship with the packages 105, a nested pair of braces 85 on each package 105. Cardboard bands 106 are then placed in overlying relationship with corresponding packages 105 and stacked leg braces 85, and stapled to the bottom surface 25 of the end section 20 as illustrated in FIGURE 5. The packages 105 and the stacked braces 85 are thus securely held against the bottom surface 25.

The next and last step in the method embodying features of the present invention; outside of actually inserting the table 10 into the carton 12, is placing the other top end section 21 in mirror relationship over the top end section 20. Since the overall thickness of the component arrangement fastened to the bottom surface 25 has been calculated to be no greater than about one and threefourths to two inches (including cardboard), the depending aprons 24 of each of the end'sections' 20 and 21 come together around their peripheries, forming pocket like arrangement only three and a half inches in thickness. The table 10, arranged according to the present invention, is then inserted in the carton 12, as illustrated before in FIGURE 2.

As a result of the development of this new packaging method and arrangement, a drastic reduction in the size of an extreme-1y salable item is facilitated. Accordingly, it is possible for the consumer to purchase the table in componentized package form, carry it home with him and assemble it himself. This effectively reduced shipping, storage, marketing, and merchandising costs to the manufacturer and retailer, and the final purchase price to the consumer, with no reduction in the quality of the table itself.

While the arrangement of the invention described herein is at present considered to be preferred, it is understood that variations and modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such variations and modifications as fall Within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is desired to be claimed and secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of packaging a leaf-type expansible table wherein the tab-1e includes a two-sectioned top, a leaf section for insertion between the top sections, an apron depending from the periphery of the sections, supporting legs and leg braces, expansion slides, and hardware, said method comprising steps of: segmenting the leaf section and folding it over upon itself, seating the folded leaf section on the bottom of one end section within the confines of its apron, seating the legs of the table on the bottom of said one end section in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis of the folded leaf section, seating the leg braces on the bottom of said one end section, seating the table expansion slides and miscellaneous hardware on the bottom of said one end section, placing the other and section of the table in complementary sandwich relationship over the bottom of said one end section, whereby corresponding aprons come substantially into abutting relationship, and enclosing the thus arranged componentized table in a container.

2. A method of packaging a leaf-type expansible table wherein the table includes a two-sectioned top, .a leaf section for insertion between the top sections, an apron depending from the periphery of the sections, supporting legs and leg braces, expansion slides, and hardware, said method comprising the steps of: segmenting the leaf section on a line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the section and closer to one end of the section than to the other end, pivotally connecting the segments of the leaf section on said line, folding the leaf section over upon itself so the apron segments associated therewith overlap; seating the folded leaf section on the bottom of one end section within the confines of its apron, seating the legs of the table on the bottom of said one end section in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis of the folded leaf section, seating the leg braces on the bottom of said one end section, seating the table expansion slides and miscellaneous hardware on the bottom of said one end section, placing the other end section of the table in complementary sandwich relationship over the bottom of said one end section whereby corresponding apron segments on said end sections come into substantially abutting relationship, and enclosing the thus arranged componentized table in a container.

3. The method of claim 2 further characterized in that said tab-1e expansion slides are seated on the bottom of said one end section in parallel relationship with said legs.

4. The method of claim 3 further characterized in that said leg braces are seated on opposite ends of the bottom of said one end section in transversely extending relationship with said axis.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 380,218 3/1888 Rice 108-33 543,794 7/ 1895 Zalikowski 10886 1,307,145 6/ 1919 Penneck 108--67 1,796,268 3/ 1931 Richardson 10883 2,631,075 3/1953 De Gaal 10886 2,652,300 9/ 19553 Graber et a1 108--34 X 2,673,774 3/1954 Di Prima 108-36 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,009,083 5/ 1952 France.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A METHOD OF PACKAGING A LEAF-TYPE EXPANSIBLE TABLE WHEREIN THE TABLE INCLUDES A TWO-SECTIONED TOP, A LEAF SECTION FOR INSERTION BETWEEN THE TOP SECTIONS, AN APRON DEPENDING FROM THE PERIPHERY OF THE SECTIONS, SUPPORTING LEGS AND LEG BRACES, EXPANSION SLIDES, AND HARDWARE, SAID METHOD COMPRISING STEPS OF: SEGMENTING THE LEAF SECTION AND FOLDING IT OVER UPON ITSELF, SEATING THE FOLDED LEAF SECTION ON THE BOTTOM OF ONE END SECTION WITHIN THE CONFINES OF ITS APRON, SEATING THE LEGS OF THE TABLE ON THE BOTTOM OF SAID ONE END SECTION IN PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE FOLDED LEAF SECTION, SEATING THE LEG BRACES ON THE BOTTOM OF SAID ONE END SECTION, SEATING THE TABLE EXPANSION SLIDES AND MISCELLANEOUS HARDWARE ON THE BOTTOM OF SAID ONE END SECTION, PLACING THE OTHER END SECTION OF THE TABLE IN COMPLEMENTARY SANDWICH RELATIONSHIP OVER THE BOTTOM OF SAID ONE END SECTION, WHEREBY CORRESPONDING APRONS COME SUBSTANTIALLY INTO ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP, AND ENCLOSING THE THUS ARRANGED COMPONENTIZED TABLE IN A CONTAINER.