Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B47/00—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features related to dismountability or building-up from elements
  • A47B47/0016—Node corner connectors, e.g. cubic
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B95/00—Fittings for furniture
  • A47B95/02—Handles

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a modular framework for furniture, comprising standardized node elements, provided with tapped holes in different directions, and tubular elements, the ends of which are each fixed to a node element using a threaded piece. parallel to the tubular element and engaged in one of said tapped holes.
• the invention also relates to a removable handle for transporting furniture having such a frame.
• Modular frame furniture of this kind is well known and can include modules such as shelves, boxes, racks, displays, casters or feet, which are fixed to the frame to constitute in particular office furniture , storage or display.
• Such furniture is produced in particular by USM U. Schârer Sôhne AG, M ⁇ nsingen, Switzerland.
• These pieces of furniture have the 'disadvantage of being difficult to move manually when their outer surfaces are closed by panels, because they then offer little manual grips allowing them to be lifted for transport.
• a removable parallelepiped frame comprising, at its angles, elements of cubic nodes connected together by tubular bars.
• Each knot element has, on three perpendicular faces, a tail intended to fit into one of the bars.
• One of its three other faces has a tapped hole intended to receive either a threaded foot, if this face is on the lower surface of the chassis, or a suspension element if this face is on the upper surface of the chassis. Since these knot elements each have several types of configuration of their faces, they do not lend themselves well to the construction of modular frameworks for furniture of the kind indicated above.
• the invention relates to a modular frame of the kind indicated in the preamble, characterized in that it further comprises removable carrying handles each having a threaded rod arranged to engage in one of the holes tapped from any of the knot elements, particularly on a vertical side of the cabinet.
• a basic idea of the invention consists in using as gripping means, in particular for manually transporting such a piece of furniture, some of the threaded holes which remain otherwise unused on the elements of knots present on the outside faces of the piece of furniture. It suffices to have a set of, for example, two pairs of removable handles that can be fixed at the most appropriate places at two ends of the furniture, so that two people can easily lift and move it.
• each removable handle by means of a screw is not only quick and solid, but above all it does not require on the furniture any additional element liable to affect the aesthetics of the furniture.
• the unused threaded holes are usually closed off with a screw or plug, it is easy to remove the latter element to put a carrying handle in its place, then to put it back in place after transport.
• Another advantageous aspect of the invention is that, the knot elements being standardized and usually similar in a whole range of such modular furniture, the same carrying handles can be used with all the furniture in the range.
• each handle comprises an elongated body, at a front end from which emerges said threaded rod, and a front face of support arranged to be pressed against the knot element by screwing said rod into the tapped hole.
• the threaded rod is stressed mainly in tension and not in bending during transport, as is the case also of the aforementioned threaded parts of the frame itself.
• the handles therefore have a large load capacity, even if the diameter of the threaded rod is relatively small.
• a transport handle for modular frame furniture according to the invention is essentially characterized in that it comprises an elongated body, at one front end from which emerges a threaded rod capable of being screwed into one of the tapped holes, and a front face d support intended to be pressed against the knot element by screwing said rod into said hole.
• the front support face of the handle may have a flat part / or a concave part, in particular of conical or spherical shape around the threaded rod.
• the threaded rod is integral with the body of the handle.
• the body of the handle is hollow and the threaded rod is part of a screw passing inside this body and having a head arranged to bear axially against it in order to press the front face of support against the node element.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture having a modular frame according to the invention, equipped with removable transport handles,
• FIG. 2 shows in perspective a first embodiment of such a carrying handle
• FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of part of the frame of the cabinet of Figure 1, comprising several tubular elements attached to a node element, - Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the knot element shown in Figure 3,
• FIG. 5 is a partially cut side view of a transport handle fitted with a washer
• FIG. 6 represents another form of washer usable with the handle of FIG. 5,
• FIG. 7 shows in longitudinal section another embodiment of a transport handle
• FIG. 8 shows in partial longitudinal section yet another embodiment of a carrying handle.
• the modular piece of furniture 11 represented in FIG. 1 comprises a modular framework comprising elements of nodes 1 on which the ends of tubular elements such as tubes are fixed. Legs 12 can be fixed to the elements of nodes 1 at the bottom of the piece of furniture .
• On this framework are mounted furniture modules such as shelves 13, side wall panels 14, rear panels 15, doors 16 or other modules not shown and known in this type of furniture, depending on the function that the furniture must fill. These modules may include integrated tubular elements which replace the tubes 2.
• FIG 3 shows in more detail an embodiment of the frame of the furniture of Figure 1, in accordance with the prior art described in patent CH 429 317.
• the element of standard node 1 in this case has a shape substantially spherical and it is crossed by three orthogonal tapped bores forming, on the opposite sides of the element, six identical tapped holes 3, capable of each receiving a threaded part forming part of a device for fixing each tube 2.
• This device comprises two wedge-shaped sockets 4, crossed by a screw 5.
• the two sockets bear against each other by their respective biased surfaces 6, while their opposite concave ends 7 are pressed respectively against the head 8 of the screw 5 and against the outer surface of the node element 1.
• the outside diameter of the sockets 4 is slightly smaller than the inside dimensions of the tube 2, which can be round or square.
• the fixing device can be replaced by any equivalent device having a threaded part which engages in one of the tapped holes 3 as does the screw 5, for example one of the fixing devices described in the patents cited above.
• the node element 1 in the shape of a ball it is possible to use elements having other shapes, for example having planar faces like the element of node 1 substantially cubic represented in FIG. 4, or an element having non-orthogonal holes, as provided for in document EP 0 686 363.
• the modular framework described hitherto is well known and it could be replaced by any other equivalent framework provided that this comprises elements of knots, at least some of which have a tapped hole freely accessible on an outside face of the piece of furniture.
• transport handles 20 are provided which are intended to be removably fixed in some of the tapped holes 3 remaining freely accessible, in particular on the vertical external faces of the piece of furniture 11.
• the handle 20 is made in one piece, preferably of steel and has a substantially cylindrical body 21 whose front end is secured to a threaded rod 22 of smaller diameter, its thread corresponding to that of the holes 3 of the node elements 1.
• the front face of the body 21 has a flat part 23 intended to bear against the node element.
• the peripheral surface of the body 21 of the handle can be provided with a suitable structure such as ridges or a rubber coating. If necessary, one can provide at the rear end of the handle 20 a second threaded rod similar to the rod 22, having a different diameter to engage in knot elements of another size. It is understood that the personnel responsible for moving the modular piece of furniture 11 can easily screw two pairs of removable handles 20 into the most suitable node elements 1, at each end of the piece of furniture, for lifting and transporting it easily. Then simply unscrew the handles so that the furniture regains its original appearance.
• the carrying handle 20 shown in Figure 5 is similar to that of Figure 2, except that a washer 25 is mounted on a cylindrical rear portion 26 of the threaded rod 22 to be interposed between the body 21 of the handle and l 'node element 1. It is then the front face 27 of this washer which will be pressed against the node element.
• the washer 25 is preferably made of hard plastic and its purpose is to avoid damaging the surface of the knot element, which may for example be chrome or nickel-plated.
• FIG. 6 represents a variant in which the washer 25 has a concave front face 28 of spherical shape, to be applied against a node element 1 of corresponding shape, like that of FIG. 3.
• the body 21 of the handle 20 is pierced with a central bore 30 in which is housed a screw 31 provided with a head 32 with hexagonal recess 33 or the like.
• the screw has a cylindrical barrel 34 and a threaded front end 35 around which the front face of the body 21 has a conical concave part 36 surrounded by a flat part 37. This face can thus be pressed against both a flat surface and against a curved surface of a knot element such as those of FIGS. 3 and 4.
• the bore 30 is widened to contain the head 32 of the screw, which bears against a shoulder 38 of the body and which is retained by a circlip 39. The user can tighten and loosen the screw using a hexagon wrench engaged in the recess 33.
• an advantage of this embodiment is that the body 21 of the carrying handle does not need to rotate and therefore does not risk damaging the surface of the knot element.
• the body may be lighter than in the previous examples and made for example from light metal, synthetic resin, wood or another suitable material. Its front face can be provided with a coating, for example in resin, or with a washer similar to the washers 25 described above.
• the embodiment shown in Figure 8 differs from that of Figure 7 in that the head of the screw 31 is supported on the rear end of the body 21 of the handle, in particular by means of a washer 41. This head is formed by a large button 42 serving as a manual grip for turning the screw, the button preferably having a ridged or rough surface or a non-circular shape.
• the button 42 can advantageously be produced by overmolding a synthetic material on the rear end of the barrel 34 of the screw, supplemented by a projecting element such as a transverse bar 43. So that the screw 31 does not escape towards the rear, it is retained by a circlip 44 located in a recess 45 at the front of the body 21.
• This handle has the same advantages as that of Figure 7, and more can be mounted on the frame of the furniture 11 and remove it without using a tool.

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• Furniture Connections (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8171569

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (5)

Citations (9)

• 2000
  • 2000-05-29 EP EP00201888A patent/EP1159891A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2001
  • 2001-05-22 WO PCT/EP2001/005862 patent/WO2001091611A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2001-05-22 AU AU2001266009A patent/AU2001266009A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (9)

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