WO1996011604A1

WO1996011604A1 - A collapsible piece of furniture

Info

Publication number: WO1996011604A1
Application number: PCT/SE1995/001185
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rolf NYSTRÖM
Original assignee: Nystroem Rolf
Priority date: 1994-10-13
Filing date: 1995-10-13
Publication date: 1996-04-25
Also published as: SE9403470D0; SE9403470L

Abstract

A piece of furniture comprises at least one disk-shaped base piece (1), a disk-shaped support piece (4, 5) and a disk-shaped intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9). These pieces are flat arranged and lying against each other as the piece of furniture is collapsed, and they are positioned in three non-parallel plans as the piece of furniture is unfolded. The pieces of the piece of furniture are connected to each other by means of a joint connection (12, 13) which connects the support piece (4, 5) and the base piece (1) to permit the support piece (4, 5) to be pivoted in relation to the base piece (1), and a joint member (17) which connects the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) and the base piece (1) to permit the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) to be pivoted in relation to the base piece (1). Furthermore, the piece of furniture presents locking means (14, 15, 16) which lock the pieces in relation to each other when the piece of furniture is unfolded, to permit the piece of furniture to be subjected to the loads present during the use thereof.

Description

A collapsible piece of furniture

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

The present invention relates to a piece of furniture according to the introductory part of patent claim 1.

Furniture which can be bought in a non-assembled state in which the pieces of the furniture are fiat arranged and positioned against each other in packages are known and provided by lots of large furniture companies. Furniture sold in this way have of course the advantage that the transportation of the piece of furniture from, on one hand, the factory to the dealer's location and, on the other hand, from the dealer's location to the final consumer is relatively simple. Further¬ more, they have the advantage of permitting the price to be held rela- tively low as the assembling work has been left to the customer. To make these known furniture usable, it is accordingly required that the different pieces of the furniture are assembled in accordance with a drawing which is included in the purchase and often fairly complicated. The assembly is done by means of different connections known per se, such as screw joints, wooden plugs and the like, i.e. a plurality of separate components which, hopefully, have been sent with. For the average customer this assembly work is often very time consuming and connected with different troubles.

For less practical persons who do not master this difficult assembly work, the remaining alternative is to buy furniture as assembled. Firstly, these are more expensive as they have to be assembled in connection to the manufacture and because they cause higher trans¬ portation costs due to their considerable size. Secondly, they are more difficult for the customer to transport back home, as it often is no room for them in a normal private car. Therefore, they have to be delivered all the way home to the customer by the furniture dealer, whereby the customer often has to wait for a longer period to get the new furniture to his home. Many times this is felt as irritating and can lead to dis¬ putes between customer and dealer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to remedy these problems by means of a technical solution and produce a piece of furniture which is easy to transport and which in a very simple way can be transformed from a handy transportation state to a complete application state.

With reference to such a known piece of furniture according to the introductory part of patent claim 1 and which is delivered in pieces, the technical solution according to the invention is comprised by a piece of furniture with the characteristics stated in the characterising part of patent claim 1.

With the hinged connections stated in the characterising part, the flat packed piece of furniture can be unfolded to a complete piece of furniture in a very simple way and can once again be collapsed to a handy transport package. Of course, this can be done at repeated occasions without the function of the piece of furniture being deterio¬ rated in any way, contradictory to the known furniture which are deliv¬ ered in pieces and the life of which is often delimited due to the dis- mounting and assembling thereof, for instance because of the threads in the relatively porous fibre boards being worn out, wooden plugs breaking or disappearing etc. This quality of letting itself be collapsed and reassembled at repeated occasions, also makes the piece of furniture according to the invention especially suitable for persons who often move and persons who willingly rearrange the furniture of their homes.

The independent patent claims state preferred embodiments of the invention.

As the support piece and the intermediate piece can be out-pivoted in relation to the base piece around a first axis and a second axis which are perpendic "ar to e- 3h other and parallel to the base piece, a very usable piece JΪ furniture is accomplished, which piece of furniture has many application fields and can be brought into a handy transport state in which it generally obtains the form of a flat package.

As the base piece is provided with a border which extends up to and past the front main surface of the base piece, the pivot centre of the support pieces is displaced so that a space is created between the support piece and the base piece and simultaneously an increased stability and strength is conferred to the piece of furniture. Then, in the collapsed state of the piece of furniture, this space can accommodate the intermediate piece.

With several intermediate pieces, the piece of furniture according to the invention can be used in further preferred applications. These can, for instance, be in the for of a bookcase, a cupboard, a table, a sofa and a chair.

In an alternative embodiment of the generally disk-shaped pieces, these are provided with through-recesses or holes which, depending on the application in which the piece of furniture is to be used, can have a purely aesthetical meaning, but can also contribute to make the piece of furniture lighter and more handy.

With the locking members stated more in detail, it is assured that the piece of furniture is locked in unfolded state in a stable and steady way. The proposed solution which is characterised of a locking heel is surprisingly simple and has, therefore, important advantages as to manufacturing technique. With the stated male member and the fe- male member adapted thereto, simple construction is maintained, but a more important locking safety is obtained.

In an advantageous way the intermediate piece can be connected to the base piece with a male and a female member, for instance in the shape of a bolt inserted in a recess, which has the advantage of a high reliability and a simple factory assembly. In an advantageous way the support piece can be connected to the base piece in such a way that the support piece can not be pivoted past the outer position, whereby the stability of the piece of furniture is improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Now the present invention will be explained more in detail by means of different embodiments showing possible applications of the invention and partly illustrated in Fig 1 to Fig 6.

Fig 1 shows a bookcase in a collapsed state.

Fig 2 shows the bookcase according to Fig 1 , during unfolding.

Fig 3 shows the bookcase according to Fig 1 , during unfolding in a later state.

Fig 4 shows a partial cross-section of the bookcase according to Fig 1.

Fig 5 shows the bookcase according to Fig 1 , in an unfolded state.

Fig 6 shows another embodiment, concerning a cupboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Fig 1-5 show an embodiment where the piece of furniture is designed as a bookcase. This one comprises a base piece 1 forming the back piece of the bookcase, two support pieces 4, 5 forming the side pieces of the bookcase, and a plurality of intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 form¬ ing the shelves in the bookcase as unfolded.

The base piece 1 is generally disk-shaped and presents two main surfaces 2, 3 which are plane and parallel to each other, and two side edges. It has a relatively important extension in one plane and a con¬ siderable less important extension in a thickness direction perpendicu- lar to t Diane. Further, the base piece 1 comprises two border members or borders 10, 11 which are designed as flat disks, with a front and a rear side edge and which are fastened to the side edges of the base piece 1 in such a way that they extend up to and past the front, plane main surface 3 of the base piece with their front side edges. The borders can be glued, screwed or in a similar way fixed on the side edges of the base piece 1. It is also possible to design the borders 10, 11 as a part of a piece together with the base piece 1.

The support pieces 4, 5 are disk-shaped with a relatively important extension in one plane and a considerably less important extension in a thickness direction perpendicular to this plane and with a front and a rear side edge. At their rear side edges, the two support pieces 4, 5 are pivotably mounted at the borders of the base piece through joint connections 12, 13 around a respective first axis generally parallel to the plane of the base piece 1 , in such a way that the support pieces 4, 5 form a generally perpendicular angle with the plane main surfaces 2, 3 of the base piece 1 as the piece of furniture is unfolded, and are preferably parallel with the main surfaces 2, 3 of the base piece 1 as the piece of furniture is collapsed. The joint connections 12 can, for in¬ stance, be hinges. These shall permit pivotation of the support piece 4, 5 from an inner, collapsed position to an outer position generally perpendicular to the plane surfaces 2, 3 of the base piece 1. Prefer¬ ably the joint connections are such that the support piece cannot be pivoted past this outer position. For instance, the pivoting movement can be stopped by the front side edge of the border 10, 11 and the rear side edge of the support piece 4, 5 bearing on each other.

The intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 are generally disk-shaped and have a relatively important extension in one plane and a considerably less important extension in a direction perpe cular to this plane. The intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 have a fror and a rear edge and two side edges. Via two joint members 17 tr e intermediate pieces are pivotably mounted at the borders 10, 11 of the base piece 1 around a respective second axis which is generally parallel to the plane of the base piece 1 , in such a way that they are pivotable between a position generally parallel to the main surfaces 2, 3 of the base piece 1 for collapsing the piece of furniture, and a position where they form a generally perpendicular angle with the plane main surfaces 2, 3 of the base piece 1 as the piece of furniture is unfolded. The second axis is directed generally perpendicular to the first ones, and in the unfolded state of the present piece of furniture, the first and second axis extend generally vertically and horisontally respectively. Each joint member 17 comprises a bolt which is arranged in the side edge of the interme¬ diate piece 6, 7, 8, 9 close to the rear edge thereof and a recess which is arranged in the border 10, 1 1 of the base piece 1. The bolt is rotat- able in the recess to permit the pivotation of the intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 in relation to the base piece 1. These joint members can be replaced by joint members of a different type, for instance hinges, which are arranged at the front main surface 3 of the base piece 1 and on the intermediate piece 6, 7, 8, 9 at the rear edge thereof. The base piece as well as the support pieces and the intermediate pieces are rigid and made of a solid material, such as wood disks, as in the case shown.

Thanks to the borders projecting past the front main surface 3 of the base piece 1 , the intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 will be positioned between the support pieces 4, 5 and the base piece 1 in a space formed by the latters and the borders as the piece of furniture is col¬ lapsed. Accordingly, beside their aesthetical function, the borders have this technical task to move forward the joint connections. It lies within the frame of the invention to replace the shown joint connec¬ tions 12, 13 with another type of hinged connections which can be fastened to the main surface or the side edges of the base piece. These hinged connections can be designed in such a way that the very joint is located at a distance from the front main surface of the base piece, to create a space between the base piece and the support pieces when the support piece is folded in order to lie parallel to the base piece. With such hinged connections the borders are not neces¬ sary for the function of the piece of furniture. In this case the joint members for the intermediate pieces are of the type which is fastened directly on the main surface of the base piece. Further the piece of furniture comprises locking means 14, 15, 16 which lock the different pieces of the piece of furniture in relation to each other when the piece of furniture is unfolded, to make the latter cope with all the loads existing during the use thereof. These locking means comprise in their most simple form a locking heel 16 which is self-supportingly arranged at the inner surfaces of the support pieces 4, 5. With self-supportingly arranged is meant that there are not any special holding means or similar means required to make it possible for the locking heel to bear and transfer the weight of each interme- diate piece respectively to each support piece respectively. However, it would be fully possible that they are removable and present, for instance, two taps for insertion into corresponding female members in the support piece to fix the locking heel 16 to the support piece in the height and depth direction of the furniture, i.e. against movement in the plane of the support piece. In the shown case the locking heels are, however, permanently fixed to the support pieces at the inside thereof. When the support pieces are unfolded the intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 can rest upon the heels 16 thereof, the weight of the inter¬ mediate pieces giving strength and stability to the piece of furniture. This strength and stability is further improved if the support pieces only can be pivoted so far that the intermediate pieces just can be pivoted down between the support pieces. Accordingly, a locking can easily be obtained by arranging at each support piece respectively a support surface arranged to stop the pivotation of the intermediate piece from the collapsed state and to keep the intermediate piece in a position in which it inhibits pivotation of the support surface towards the collapsed state in relation to the base piece through the affection of G-force upon the intermediate piece, and thereby making the un¬ folded piece of furniture more rigid.

In another, improved form, the locking means comprise a locking member 14 which is arranged at the inner surface of the support piece 4, 5, and a corresponding locking member 15 which is arranged at the intermediate piece 6, 7, 8, 9, the locking member and the correspond- ing locking member being arranged in such a way that they can be brought into engagement with each other as the piece of furniture is unfolded, for locking the piece of furniture in the unfolded state. In the shown example the locking member and the corresponding locking member is a couple comprising a recess 15 and a bolt, plug or similar 14 which is insertable in the recess. In the shown case the bolt is arranged at the locking heel 16. Also in this case it is advantageous if the support pieces only can be pivoted so far that the intermediate pieces 6, 7, 8, 9 just can be pivoted down between the support pieces and more or less can be pressed down between the support pieces 4, 5.

The disk-shaped pieces of the piece of furniture can be provided with through-recesses or holes, as shown for the support pieces 4, 5 in Fig 1 -5. Also other holes or recesses are possible, depending on the specific use of the piece of furniture. Such holes may have a purely aesthetic value but can also contribute to a decreased weight and an improved manageability.

The piece of furniture according to the invention can be used in a variety of different applications except the bookcase shown in Fig 1 -5. The piece of furniture can also be designed as a cupboard, see Fig 6, at which the base piece 1 forms the back piece of the cupboard, the two support pieces 4, 5 form the sides of the cupboard and the inter¬ mediate pieces 6 and 8 form the upper and lower delimitation walls of the cupboard and the intermediate piece 7 forms a shelf present in the cupboard. Furthermore, a cupboard door 19 is arranged. The cup- board door 19 is hingably connected to the front side edge of one of the support pieces 5 by means of a joint connection, formed by two hinges 20 in the shown example. The cupboard door 19 can be opened when the piece of furniture is unfolded and can be out-pivoted to such an extent that it lies parallel to the support piece 5 when the piece of furniture is to be collapsed. Of course, the cupboard may comprise two such doors, one at each support piece, or one door, or as an alternative a pair of doors, for different height sections for the piece of furniture. Besides being designed as a storage furniture, the piece of furniture according to the invention may, for instance, be designed as a table, wherein the base piece 1 forms the top of the table and the two support pieces form the legs of the table, and, pref¬ erably, an intermediate piece forms a cross-support between the legs. In this case, the pieces can be provided with different recesses to, by way of example, give each support piece the character of two legs and to make the cross-piece as discrete as possible.

It shall also be mentioned that the piece of furniture can be designed as a chair or a sofa, wherein the base piece forms the back support and the rear legs of the chair or sofa, the side pieces form the arm supports and the side legs of the chair or sofa, and the intermediate piece forms the sitting surface of the chair or sofa.

In a very simple embodiment, it is also possible to design the piece of furniture as a corner cupboard or a corner bookcase, with a base piece and a support piece forming two back pieces which are perpen¬ dicularly arranged, and with one or more intermediate pieces arranged therebetween, and forming the shelves and upper and lower limitations of the bookcase or cupboard. The corner cupboard may of course comprise a cupboard door in the same way as the above described cupboard.

For all these applications, the piece of furniture is, just as in the em¬ bodiment as a bookcase, provided with a different joint connections and joint members shown, which permit the different pieces to be folded in relation to each other, and with the shown locking means which ensures that the piece of furniture remains in an upfolded state in a stable way also during loading.

Also other furniture applications are possible.

Claims

1. A piece of furniture comprising at least one generally disk-shaped base piece (1 ), a generally disk-shaped support piece (4, 5) and a generally disk-shaped intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9), said pieces being arranged generally flat and lying against each other as the piece of furniture is collapsed and in three different non-parallel planes as the piece of furniture is unfolded, characterized by a joint connection (12, 13) which connects the support piece (4, 5) to the base piece (1 ) and which permits the support piece (4, 5) to be pivoted around a first axis in relation to the base piece (1 ), a joint member (17, 18) which connects the in¬ termediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) to the base piece (1 ) and which permits the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) to be pivoted around a second axis in relation to the base piece (1 ), and locking means (14, 15, 16) arranged to lock the pieces with respect to each other when the piece of furniture is unfolded, to permit the fatter to be subjected to loads occurring during the use thereof.

2. A piece of furniture according to claim 1 , characterized in that the support piece (4, 5) is mounted at the base piece (1 ) through the joint connection (12, 13) in such a way that it forms a generally perpendicular angle with the generally disk shaped base piece (1 ) as the piece of furniture is unfolded, and is generally parallel to the base piece (1 ) as the piece of furniture is collapsed.

3. A piece of furniture according to claim 2, characterized in that the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) is mounted at the base piece (1 ) through the joint connection (17, 18) in such a way that it forms a generally perpendicular angle to the generally disk shaped base piece (1 ) as the piece of furniture is unfolded, and is generally parallel to the base piece (1 ) as the piece of furniture is collapsed.

4. A piece of furniture according to claim 3, characterized in that the support piece (4, 5) and base piece (1 ) are arranged to receive the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) between themselves as the piece of furniture is collapsed.

5. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first and the second axis are generally parallel to the generally disk shaped base piece.

6. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first and the second axis form a generally perpendicular angle to each other.

7. A piece of furniture according to claim 6, characterized in that it is arranged to have the first and second axis directed generally vertically and horizontally respectively, or vice versa, in the unfolded state.

8. A piece of furniture according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the first axis is arranged at a larger distance from the disk shaped base piece than the second axis.

9. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the generally disk shaped base piece (1 ) pre¬ sents two main surfaces (2, 3) which are plane and generally paral- lei to each other, and two side edges which are generally parallel to each other, and in that the base piece comprises at least one bor¬ der member (10, 1 1 ) which is arranged along one of the side edges in such a way that the border member extends to and past one of the plane main surfaces (3).

10. A piece of furniture according to claim 9, characterized in that the support piece (4, 5) is mounted at the bor¬ der members (10, 1 1 ) of the base piece (1 ) through the joint connec¬ tion (12, 13) in such a way that the support piece forms a generally perpendicular angle to the plane main surfaces (2, 3) of the base piece (1 ) as the piece of furniture is unfolded, and is generally parallel to the plane main surfaces (2, 3) of the base piece (1 ) as the piece of furni¬ ture is collapsed.

1 1. A piece of furniture according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the base piece (1 ) comprises two border mem¬ bers (10, 11 ) which are arranged along one side edge respectively in such a way that they extend to and past one of the plane main sur¬ faces (3).

12. A piece of furniture according to claim 1 1 , characterized in that a support piece (4, 5) is arranged at each bor¬ der member (10, 1 1 ) with one joint connection (12, 13) each which permits pivotation of the support piece.

13. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that several intermediate pieces (6, 7, 8, 9) are arranged.

14. A piece of furniture according to any the preceding claims, characterized in that the piece of furniture is a bookcase, the base piece (1 ) forming the rear piece of the bookcase, that it comprises two support pieces (4, 5) forming the sides of the bookcase, and several intermediate pieces (6, 7, 8, 9) forming the shelves of the bookcase.

15. A piece of furniture according to any of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the piece of furniture is a cupboard, the base piece (1 ) forming the back piece of the cupboard, that it has two sup¬ port pieces (4, 5) forming the sides of the cupboard, and intermediate pieces (6, 7, 8, 9) forming the upper and lower delimiting walls of the cupboard, and, possibly, shelves present in the cupboard, and in which at least one cupboard door is arranged.

16. A piece of furniture according to claim 15, characterized in that the cupboard door is hingeably connected to a front side edge of one of the support pieces (4, 5) by means of a sec¬ ond joint connection (20), for instance a hinge, in such a way that the cupboard door can be opened when the piece of furniture is unfolded, and that the cupboard door can be pivoted to be positioned parallel to the rest of the pieces when the piece of furniture is collapsed.

17. A piece of furniture according to any of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the piece of furniture is a table, the base piece forming the top of the table, and that it has two support pieces forming the legs of the table and one or possibly more intermediate pieces forming a cross support between the legs.

18. A piece of furniture according to any of claims 1-13, characterized in that the piece of furniture is a chair or a sofa, the back support of the chair or sofa being comprised by the base piece, the arm supports and the side legs of the chair or sofa being com¬ prised by side pieces, and the sitting surface of the chair or sofa being comprised by an intermediate piece.

19. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the generally disk shaped pieces have a rela¬ tively large dimension in one plane and a considerably smaller dimen- sion in a thickness direction perpendicular to this plane.

20. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or more of the disk shaped pieces are provided with through recesses or holes.

21. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking means (14, 15, 16) comprise a heel (16) arranged at the support piece (4, 5) and against which the inter¬ mediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) rests as the piece of furniture is unfolded.

22. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking means (14, 15, 16) comprise a locking member (14) which is arranged at the support piece (4, 5), and a corresponding locking member (15) which is arranged at the inter- mediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9), the locking member and the corresponding locking member being arranged in such a way that they can be brought into engagement with each other as the piece of furniture is unfolded to lock the piece of furniture in an unfolded state.

23. A piece of furniture according claim 22, characterized in that each locking member (14) and corresponding locking member (15) forms a couple comprising a female member (15) and a male member (14) which is insertable into the former.

24. A piece of furniture according to any of claims 9-23, characterized in that the joint member comprises a male member (17) and a female member (18) which are arranged in the border members of the base piece (1 ) and in the side edge of the intermedi¬ ate piece (4, 5, 6, 7), the male member (17) being rotatably inserted into the female member (18) to permit the pivotation of the intermedi- ate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) in relation to the base piece (1 ).

25. A piece of furniture according to claim 24, characterized in that each intermediate piece has two opposite side edges, and in that a joint member (17, 18) is arranged between each such side edge and the opposite border member (10, 11 ) of the base piece (1 ).

26. A piece of furniture according to any of the claims 1 to 8 and 13 to 23, characterized in that the joint member permitting pivotation of the intermediate piece (6, 7, 8, 9) from an inner position generally parallel to the main surfaces of the base piece (1 ) to an outer position gener¬ ally perpendicular to the main surfaces of the base piece (1 ) is mounted at the front main surface (3) of the base piece and com- prises, for instance, a hinge.

27. A piece of furniture according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joint connection (12, 13), a hinge for in¬ stance, permits pivotation of the support piece (4, 5) from an inner position generally parallel to the base piece to an outer position gen¬ erally perpendicular to the plane main surfaces of the base piece (1 ), and in that the joint connection is designed in such a way that the support piece (4, 5) cannot be pivoted past this outer position.

28. A piece of furniture according to claim 21 , characterized in that said heel (16) is self-supportingly arranged on the support piece (4, 5).