US3479083A

US3479083A - Convertible wooden furniture

Info

Publication number: US3479083A
Application number: US652160A
Authority: US
Inventors: Percival Lafer
Original assignee: MOVEIS LAFER Ltda
Current assignee: MOVEIS LAFER Ltda
Priority date: 1966-10-13
Filing date: 1967-07-10
Publication date: 1969-11-18
Anticipated expiration: 1986-11-18

Description

'Nov. 18,1969 P. LAFER 3,479,083

CONVERT IBLE WOODEN FURNITURE Filed July 10. 196'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 18,1969 P. LAFER 3,479,083

CONVERTIBLE WOODEN FURNITURE} Filed July 10, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.5

BY W S S Nov. 1 18, 1969 P. LA-FER CONVERTIBLE WOOD-EN FURNITURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 10, 1967 I VELITOR: 0 mHt k NOV. 18, 1969 P 'I AFER 3,479,083

"CONVERTIBLE WOODEN FURNITURE Filed July 1.0;196'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 L w W W, WW

. 3 a W W {JIM W 32W M111, W

F 6.11 ,NVENETQM United States Patent 83,622 Int. Cl. A47c 13/00, 3/04,- A47b 83/02 US. Cl. 297118 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combination table and chair unit that converts into a buffet unit. The table-top board comprises two halves, one of which is pivotally attached to a supporting frame structure, with the two halves being hinged together. The two halves lie in a coplanar relationship to form a table-top, but in the buffet position, the two halves fold together and pivot to a position within the outline of the supporting frame structure. An even number of chairs are provided, each having a folding back and a folding seat. The seat and the back swing rearwardly and downwardly until the back lies within the outline of a pair of vertical back support members and the seat rests against the back. In the buffet position, the folded chairs are stacked in pairs in a side-by-side relationship beneath the folded top board. A first folded chair of each pair is inverted and superimposed over the second folded chair. The rearward face of the back of the lower chair of each pair forms part of a vertical front face of the buffet unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As it is already known, several solutions have been presented in the past to obtain pieces of furniture for sitting rooms, especially dining tables, that could be compacted in order to reduce the space they occupy when not used for their specific purpose.

As examples are the well known tables with the upper board which can be folded or bended, or that have a central opening permitting the insertion of a lengthening board, as the so-called console.

However, although it was possible to thus reduce the area occupied by the upper board of the table, it was not considered a satisfactory solution with reference to the chairs, which occupy the same space whether they are used or not.

Also, known are the pieces of furniture called conjugated which represent one solution for combining two pieces that are used for different purposes. An example is the inlayed bed with its back side equipped with drawers that serve as a wardrobe when the bed is vertically placed, or sofa-beds conjugated with wardrobes, and so on.

It is obvious that the search for these solutions is chiefly dictated by the need to unite the advantages of construction and function with the external appearance and better decoration of modern apartmentswhich are generally of small dimensions and have no space to hold the standard pieces of furniture.

tIn view of these facts, one can see the great importance that attaches to any kind of improvement intended to produce pieces of furniture which are at the same time compact, versatile in use, and aesthetical for the decoration of modern homes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The convertible piece of furniture of this invention includes a table having a frame of rectangular dimensions formed by two laterally spaced, inverted, generally U- shaped end members forming the legs of the table, which end members are connected at the rear by upper and lower parallel crossbeams and at the front by a front supporting bar. The frame carries a rectangular table top board articulated longitudinally at its middle to provide front and rear board halves. The rear half is pivotally conected to the frame for swinging movements only so that the two halves can be simultaneously pivoted and folded from an open position in which the two halves lie in a coplanar relationship to a folded buffet position in which the rear half overlies the front half within the outline of the frame. A pair of end panels are pivotally attached at their upper ends between the legs of the table frame and hang downwardly between the legs with the table top board folded. When the top board is opened, the two end panels can be swung into a retracted position under the board and releasably attached thereto, to provide additional sitting room at the table ends and to aid in holding the top board securely in the open position. A plurality of chairs are provided each having a chair frame with front and rear pairs of legs, seat supporting structure and back supporting structure therefor. Each chair has a seat which is pivotally attached a predetermined distance above the horizontal seat supporting structure of the chair frame by a curved tubular frame permitting the seat to be pivoted between a generally horizontal seat position and a generally vertical position in which the seat lies against the back of the chair. The back of each chair has a lower portion thereof supported by hinge means connected to the front face thereof and to the rear edge of the seat. The upper portion of the back is supported for generally vertical sliding movements by the back supporting structure which includes a pair of upstanding back support members between which the back is mounted. The upward pivoting of the seat thus causes the downward sliding of the back from a backrest position extending above the back supporting structure to a lower vertical position within the outline of the back supporting structure. The chairs are designed to be fitted together in pairs, wi.h one folded chair being inverted and superimposed over the other folded chair of the pair. The pairs are then inserted in a side-by-side relationship beneath the folded top board from one side thereof and within the confines of the frame so that the backs of the bottom chair of each pair form a front wall for the buffet unit. The resulting buffet or sideboard has a top surface formed by the rear top board half, a front surface formed by the backs of the lower chairs, and a pair of end surfaces formed by the two end panels.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a piece of furniture for sitting rooms which can present all the advantages above described, to be normally used as a dining table with four or more chairs and afterwards converted into a compact set, looking like a buffet or sideboard, thus reducing the space it occupies and presenting a better decorative effect.

The invention will be better understood in light of the enclosed drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the convertible piece of furniture is shown, as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the table and chairs ready for use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the set in FIG. 1, after conversion into a compact set, looking like a buffet or sideboard;

FIG. 3 is a side view, in vertical section, of a chair of the set in position for use;

FIG. 4 is a side view, in vertical section, of the chair showing the articulations of the seat and of the back;

FIG. 5 is a side view, in vertical section, of the chair in position to receive a second one, with the second one inverted and superpositioned thereon;

FIG. 6 has a fragmentary view in perspective of the upper board and end panel of the table, showing their articulations;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view following line AA of FIG. 6 showing the initial phase of the articulated movement of the board;

FIG. 8 is the same view showing the sequence of articulated movement;

FIG. 9 is the same view showing the board in the closed buffet position;

FIG. is a sectional view through line BB of FIG. 6 showing the oscillating movement of the table and end panel; and

FIG. 11 is the same view of an end panel in a latching or retracted position hidden under the table upper board.

By the drawings it is seen that the piece of furniture of this invention is constituted by a set of dinner table and chairs, in the present example six of them, FIG. 1, but there can be more chairs, always in pairs, from a minimum of four.

On the other hand, in FIG. 2 is shown the same table and chair unit converted into a compact sideboard or buffet unit, formed by the table with bended board and by the chairs which, two by two, FIG. 5, are fitted in a side-by-side relationship in the space defined by the table legs, FIG. 2, so that, upon positioning this furniture against a wall one obtains the decorative effect of a sideboard or buffet.

In FIG. 6 to FIG. 11 are shown the construction and functioning of the table. The said table presents a parallelepipedal shape formed by two laterally spaced inverted, generally U-shaped frames 1 opened in their lower part to form the legs of the table, connected on their back side by an upper crossbeam 2 and one lower crossbeam 3 parallel thereto. This table frame supports a table top board 6 having a front half and a rear half hinged thereto.

Between the upper ends of the legs of said lateral frames 1 are located the end panels 4 articulated on pins 5, which execute a rocking movement following arrow L, passing from a retracted position, FIG. 11, under the board 6 of the table, when this is used as such, to a vertical position, FIGS- 69, during the conversion of the table into a sideboard.

In order to hide the lateral end panels 4, there are provided in the lower surface of each end of the front half of the table board 6, the bolt stop 7 and the hook 8 to cramp with pin 9 placed centrally on the free end of each of said panels. With end panel 4 in its retracted position, bolt stop 7 engages the upper surface of the end panel to prevent downward movements of top board 6 at its center. When the pin 9 is cramped on hook 8 and adjusted on bolt stop 7, each of the lateral panels 4 will stay totally bended and retracted under the table board, making the board 6 stronger and preventing its opening by the action of any weight applied to the work surface and also allowing two more people to sit at the heads of the table.

In order to convert the two piece upper board 6 of the table into an upper board of the sideboard it is initially necessary to raise the front half of said board some centimetres, to provoke the angular displacing of the hook 8 enough to free the pin 9, thus permitting the return of each lateral panel 4 to its vertical position.

The movements of the board 6 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are executed along the path of the arrow L by raising the rear half of the board, which provokes the sliding of the front half of the board along arrow S, by a level action of the rear half of the board which pivots on pins 11. During these movements, the front half also describes the are A, as shown in FIG. 8. The board 6 simultaneously pivots about pins 11 and folds about hinges 10 to initially move to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8, and finally moves to the full overlying position of the two board halves as shown in FIG. 9 wherein both lie within the outline of the table frame.

To facilitate the sliding movement of the front half of the upper table board and for its own support when in open position, the frame is provided with a longiudinal front supporting bar 12. Two spaced wedges 13 are secured to the bottom surface of the front half of said board, the beveled end part of the wedge acting to facilitate the return of the board to open position by sliding on bar 12. In the open position of the table 6, the two wedges 13 rest on bar 12 to support the front half. In the folded position, the free edge of the front half rests directly on the front supporting bar 12.

With reference to the chairs, FIGS. 3 to 5, it is noted that they are supported by a simple frame -13, forming the front and rear pairs of legs, the seat supporting structure and the back supporting structure. The frame 13 is provided with front and

rear anchoring crossbars

14 and 15. The constructive and functional improvement is the double articulation of the seat 16 and the back 17 thereof.

On FIG. 4 it is seen that the seat 16 is articulated with the back 17 by means of hinge 18 which is secured to the rear edge of seat 16 and the front face of the bottom portion of back 17. The upper portion of the back 17 is provided with a transversal cutting 19 through which is introduced a guidance staff 20 connected to frame 13, allowing the sliding of the back between the two upstanding back support members of upper frame 13, in the length of opening 19 and in the direction of arrow B. The said vertical movement of back 17 permits the pivoting of seat 16, in the direction of arrow T, FIG, 4, so that both the seat and back can be folded to a vertical position, FIG. 5, in which they rest on the crossbar 15,

The seat 16 is suported a predetermined distance above chair frame 13 by a curved tubular frame 21. Frame 21 comprises a pair of laterally spaced, generally U-shaped, inverted side portions, the front ends of which are connected by a transverse bar that rests on front crossbar 14 with the seat in the horizontal position, and the free rear ends of which are pivotally secured at 22 to the horizontal seat supporting structure of frame 13. Once vertically folded, the chairs are conjugated by pairs, FIGS. 5, and are then packed between the legs 1 of the table having its upper board bent, FIG. 2, in order that the back of the chairs form, in the set, the front of the sideboard.

It is noted that when the chairs are arranged or conjugated in pairs, one folded chair of the pair is inverted and superimposed over the other folded chair of the pair, with the horizontal seat supporting structure of frame 13 of the upper chair resting on the same structure of the other. The legs of the upper chair terminate at the same height as the tops of the upstanding back support members and the top of the back of the lower chair. The curved frame 21 of each chair lies between the front legs of the other chair.

It is obvious that the invention can be realized with four, six, eight or more chairs, provided the proper dimensions of the various elements are based on the general meaning of the invention.

I claim:

1. A table and chair unit that converts into a buffet unit, comprising:

(a) a table having a frame with a table top board carried thereby, said top board comprising front and rear halves;

(b) hinge means connecting said halves together at their adjoining edges;

(0) means for pivotally connecting said rear half to said frame at its opposite ends for swinging movements only, so that said two halves can be simultaneously pivoted and folded from an open position in which said two halves lie in a coplanar relationship, to a folded buffet position in which said rear half overlies said front half within the outline of said frame;

(d) means in addition to said hinge means for supporting said front half in said open position and in said folded position; and

(e) a plurality of chairs each having a back, and each being designed to be fitted together with another chair, with one chair inverted and superimposed over the other chair of the pair, said pairs being inserted in a side-by-side relationship beneath said folded top board from one side thereof and within the confines of said frame when converted to a buffet, said backs of the bottom chair of each pair forming a front wall for said buffet unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said chairs has a chair frame comprising front and rear pairs of legs, seat supporting structure and back supporting structure therefor, and further has a seat and a back, said seat being pivotally attached to said chair frame for pivoting between a generally horizontal seat position and a generally vertical position in which said seat lies against said back, said back having a lower portion thereof supported by hinge means connected to a front face thereof and to the rear edge of said seat, the upper portion of said back being supported for generally vertical sliding movements by said back supporting structure, said back thereby being movable in conjunction with the movements of said seat between a backrest position extending above said back supporting structure, and a folded position within the outline of said back supporting structure.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a front crossbar links the front pair of chair legs and a back crossbar links the rear pair of chair legs, wherein said seat is supported above the chair frame in its horizontal position by a curved tubular frame including a pair of inverted U-shaped side portions connected at their front ends by a transverse bar that rests on the front crossbar and a pair of free ends that are pivotally secured to said frame, the upward pivoting of said seat thus causing the downward sliding of said back, said back and seat in said vertical position resting on said rear crossbar.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said table frame is formed by two laterally spaced, inverted, generally U-shaped members forming the legs thereof, connected at the rear by upper and lower crossbeams, and at the front by a front supporting bar, said front half of said table top board having a Wedge attached to the bottom surface thereof that rests on said front supporting bar in the table top position to support said front half, said wedge having a beveled end to facilitate the sliding of the front half over said front supporting bar during pivoting of said rear half, the free edge of said front half resting directly on said front supporting bar when in the folded buffet position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 including an end panel mounted between the legs of each U-shaped member, said panels being pivotally attached at their upper ends to the upper ends of said legs and hanging downwardly between said legs with the table in the buffet position, and means including hook means secured to the bottom surface of said front half of saidtop board and pin means attached to the free ends of said panels to hold said panels in a retracted positon under the top board with the board in the open position.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 including bolt stop means secured to the bottom surface of said front half of said top board, said bolt stop means engaging the upper surfaces of said panels in their retracted positions to prevent downward movements of said top board at its center.

7. In a convertible table and chair combination wherein the table has a frame with a folding two-piece top board carried thereby, wherein the two-piece top board is movable from an open position to a folded buffet position in which one piece overlies the other piece within the outline of the frame, an even number of chairs designed to be arranged in pairs for stacking with one chair of the pair inverted and superimposed over the other chair of the pair, said pairs being'inserted in a side-by-side relationship beneath said folded top board from one side thereof, said chairs each having a back so that the back of the bottom chair of each pair forms a front wall for the buffet.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein each chair has a chair frame including legs, a horizontal seat supporting structure and back supporting structure, and further has a seat pivotally supported a predetermined distance above said seat supporting structure by a curved tubular frame, wherein said seat is rearwardly pivoted to a generally vertical position for stacking, wherein the horizontal seat supporting structure of the upper inverted chair rests on the same structure of the lower chair when superimposed therein, and wherein the legs of the upper inverted chair terminate at the same height as the top of the back supporting member of the lower chair.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,254,916 7/1966 Bass 297 3,353,865 11/1967 Bass 297l43 154,453 7/1949 Schukat 312--235 X 1,182,339 5/1916 Bekesi 312-235 X 1,874,693 8/1932 Beauvais et a1. 108-63 2,614,018 10/1952 Engel 297140 X 2,665,963 1/1954 Wallack 312235 FOREIGN PATENTS 168,402 8/ 1949 Austria. 708,410 5/1954 Great Britain.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.