GB2242617A - Furniture system - Google Patents

Abstract

A furniture system comprises a main frame (1), first and second buttress (2, 3) and at least one support surface (4-8). Each support surface (4-8) is pivotably mounted on the main frame (1) to move between a position substantially aligned with the main frame (1) and at least one supporting position. When a support surface (4-8) is in a supporting position, its forward edge is coupled to the buttress frames (2, 3). The buttress frames (2, 3) are hingedly coupled to the main frame (1) and the whole assembly may be folded substantially flat. <IMAGE>

Description

FURNITURE SYSTEN DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a furniture system.

Simple existing furniture systems only provide support surfaces at one angle of inclination to the supporting rails or framework. Those furniture systems known to the inventors, which allow the inclination of the supported support surfaces to be adjusted, have to be partially disassembled whenever the inclination of a support surface is adjusted. Small components such as nuts and bolts often have to be removed before a support surface may be adjusted. The operation of adjusting a support surface, therefore, can be complex and usually cannot be carried out without the support surface's load firstly being removed.

Furthermore, those small components, removed to facilitate support suface adjustment, are easily mislaid and their loss is often sufficient to prevent subsequent use of a furniture system.

An object of the present invention is to overcome at least some of the aforementioned disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a furniture system comprising buttress means and at least one support surface member, hingedly supported by frame means, wherein the support surface member is pivotable with respect to the frame means and the buttress means extends from the frame means, for supporting and holding the support surface member at any one of at least two different inclinations to the frame means.

Advantageously, a support surface member in a furniture system in accordance with the present invention, need not be emptied when its inclination is adjusted, because it is always supported, at least in part, by the frame means. Also, since the hinged connection between the support surface member and the frame means allows the inclination of the support surface member to be adjusted, without - any disconnection of the support surface member from the frame means, the adjustment procedure is simple and there is no risk of losing any of the components of the furniture system.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the buttress means are hingedly connected to the frame means, such that the buttress means are movable between an extended position, for supporting and holding the support surface member, and a folded position substantially aligned with the frame means , a support surface member being pivotable from any of said inclinations to a folded position substantially aligned with the frame means. An advantage of this embodiment, is that such a furniture system may be folded up into a small volume when not in use and opened up from said folded up position by simple relative hinging, or pivoting of the buttress means, support surface member and frame means.Thus, in contrast to conventional collapsible furniture systems which require partial disassembly for storage and reassemble for use, no components need be taken off the system of the present invention and the risk of component loss, therefore, is obviated.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the buttress means is arranged to provide a buttress to the frame member, when in said extended position. An advantage of this further embodiment is that such a furniture system, when opened out for use, remains stable, without requiring further support.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the furniture system is a shelving system and further comprises releasable locking means for releasably locking a shelf member in engagement with the buttress means, when supported thereby at either of said inclinations, or with the frame means when in substantial alignment therewith. Preferably, the releasable locking means comprises at least one bolt member arranged to be extended from the shelf member into an appropriately located recess in the buttress means, or frame means. Such an arrangement prevents the shelf member from being accidentally dislodged when supported in a fixed relationship with the frame and, in its preferred form, is both effective and mechanically simple.

In a further preferred embodiment, the buttress means comprises two buttress members, each provided with buffer means arranged to resist movement of the associated buttress member in a direction away from its folded position, beyond its extended, shelf supporting position. Advantageously, the shelf member is hinged to the frame means by at least one retractable bolt member extending into a recess in the frame member. The provision of a buffer means prevents the locking means from being dislodged from engagement with the buttress means, when the shelf member is supported by the buttress means.

Most preferably, shelving systems in accordance with the present invention include a plurality of shelves arranged to be supportable and held at vertically spaced intervals.

An alternative embodiment comprises a desk wherein the support surface member is the desk top.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shelving system in accordance with the present invention and; Figure 2 is a perspective, partly sectioned and broken view of a shelf from the shelving system shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a desk according to the present invention.

The shelving system illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a main frame 1, first and second buttress frames 2 and 3 and a plurality of shelves 4-8.

The main frame 1 is substantially rectangular and comprises parallel first and second longer frame members 9 and 10 and parallel first and second shorter frame members 11 and 12, all formed from rectangular cross-section steel tubing. The shorter frame members 11 and 12 are joined to the longer frame members 9 and 10 by welding. Each of the buttress frames 2 and 3 are similarly constructed from rectangular cross-section steel tubing. Each buttress frame 2 or 3 is rectangular in outline and comprises first and second longer buttress members 13 and 14 and first and second shorter buttress members 15 and 16. As with the main frame 1, the first and second shorter buttress members 15 and 16 are joined to the first and second longer buttress members 13 and 14 by welding.The longer buttress members and the longer frame members 9, 10, 13, and 14 are substantially parallel to each other and are of the same length. The first longer buttress member 13 of the first buttress frame 2 is joined to the first longer member 9 of the main frame 1 by a plurality of common double-leaf hinges 17. Likewise, the first longer member 13 of the second buttress frame 3 is joined to the second longer member 10 by a plurality of double leaf hinges 17. The double leaf hinges 17 are arranged such that the first and second buttress frames 2 and 3 may be folded inwardly towards the main frame 1 in the direction of the arrows A in Figure 1; but abutment of longer frame members 9 and 10 with adjacent first and second longer buttress members 15 and 16, prevents the first and second buttress frames 2 and 3 from pivoting in the opposite direction to the arrows A, beyond their positions shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows details of a shelf 4-8. Each shelf is formed from a channel section member 18 comprised of a substantially rectangular plate 19 extending between an inturned "L" sectioned flange 20 and a rectangular flange 21. Both the flanges 20 and 21 extend downwardly (as shown in figure 2) from the longer margins of the plate 19. In cross-section, the inturned flange 20 and the adjacent portion of the plate 19 define a substantially square cross-section channel. A square cross-section tubular member 23 is secured by welding within said channel and extends along the entire length thereof. Two bolt members 25 are slidably located within the square cross-section tubular member 23. Each bolt member 25 comprises a larger diameter cylindrical portion 26 and a smaller diameter cylindrical portion 27 extending coaxially from the larger diameter cylindrical portion 26.The larger diameter cylindrical portions 26 of each bolt member 25 are located within the square cross-section tubular member 23, with the smaller diameter cylindrical portions 27 located towards the open ends of the square cross-section tubular member 23.

Control rods 28 extend from each of the larger diameter cylindrical portions 26 of the bolt members 25, within the tubular member 23, to an annular crank flange 29.

The crank flange 29 is substantially parallel to the plate 19 and extends radially outwardly from a centrally located cylindrical shaft 30. Holes 24 are formed through the crank flange 29 and each hole 24 is engaged by a hooked end part 36 of a control rod 28.

The holes 24 lie on a diameter of the crank flange 29, on either side of the shaft 30. The cylindrical shaft 30 is journal led at both end in opposed walls of the square cross-section tubular member 23. A drivable end part 31 of the shaft 30 extends through both the tubular member 23 and the plate 19, to protrude a short distance above (as orientated in figure 2) the plate 19. The drivable end part 31 of the shaft 30 has a hexagonally cross-sectioned recess formed therein, to enable the shaft to be turned by a suitably dimensioned allen key, or other hexagonally cross-sectioned key.

Compression springs 32 act between the facing ends of the bolt members 25 and bulkheads 60. Each bulkhead 60 is located within the square cross-section tubular member 23, between the crank flange 29 and the bolt members 25. The bulkheads 60 do not completely obstruct the tubular member 23 and enable the controls rods 28 to pass thereby.

A second square cross-section tubular member 33 is located within the corner defined between the rectangular flange 21 and the plate 19 and extends along the length of the rectangular flange 21. Second bolt members 35, comprised of larger 37 and smaller 38 diameter cylindrical portions, similar to those of the bolt members 25, are slidably located within the square cross-section second tubular member 33.

The larger diameter cylindrical portion 37 of each second bolt member 35 is located within the second square cross-section tubular member 33, with the smaller diameter cylindrical portions 38 located towards the open ends of the tubular member 33.

Compression springs 39 act between the facing ends of the second bolt members 35 and bulkheads 40, located within the square cross-section tubular member 33. A cylindrical rod 42 extends radially outwardly from the larger diameter cylindrical portion 37 of each second bolt member 35. Each rod 42 extends out through the tubular member 33, through one of two slots 43, formed through a wall thereof.

A plurality of circular holes 50 are formed through the facing sides of the first and second longer frame members 9 and 10. The uppermost (as shown in figure 1) hole 50, in each longer frame member 9 and 10, is spaced from its neighbouring hole 50, in the same frame member, by a distance equalling that separating the smaller cylindrical portions 37 and 38 of the bolt members 25 and 35. The remaining circular holes 50 are arranged in similarly spaced pairs, along the length of both the first and second longer frame members 9 and 10. Each of the circular holes 50 in the first longer frame member 9 is located the same distance from the lower end of that member (as shown in figure 1), as that separating a corresponding circular hole 50 in the second longer frame member 10 from the lower end thereof.Similarly, circular holes 51 are formed on the facing (as shown in figure 1) surfaces of the second longer buttress members 14 of both buttress frames 2 and 3. Again, each of the holes 51, in the first buttress frame 2 is located the same distance from the base of that frame (as shown in figure 1) as that separating a corresponding hole 51 from the base of the second buttress frame 3.

Each of the shelves 4-8 is hingedly supported in the main frame 1, by the engagement of the smaller diameter cylindrical portions 38 of the second bolt members 35 in the upper one of each of said pairs of holes 50. To remove any of the shelves 4-5 from the main frame 1, at least one of the second bolt members 35 must be retracted into the second square cross-section tubular member 33, through sliding its rod 42 away from the adjacent end of the second tubular member 33.

Any of the shelves 4-8 may be locked into postion by the engagement of the smaller diameter portions 27 of the first bolt members 25 in opposed pairs of holes 51 or 50. The shelves 4-8 may be locked into either a horizontal position, an inclined position or, a vertical position (as orientated in figure 1). Shelves 4 and 5 are shown in the horizontal position, shelf 6 is shown in solid lines in the inclined position and shelves 7 and 8 are shown in solid lines in the vertical position. Shelf 6 is shown in broken lines in the horizontal position and shelf 7 is shown in broken lines in both the horizontal and inclined position.

To pivot any of the shelves 4-8 from any of said positions to another (as shown by arrows B), the first bolt members 25 must firstly be retracted from engagement with the holes 50 or 51. In order to effect such retraction, an allen key, or other hexagonally cross-sectioned key is inserted into the recess 31 in the shaft 30 and used to turn the shaft 30. So turning the shaft 30 causes the crank flange 29 to turn and pull upon the control rods 28. The control rods 28, in turn, pull upon the bolt members 25 and cause them to retract from the holes 50 or 51 into the square cross-section tubular member 23, against the influence of the compression springs 32. Once a freely pivoting shelf 4-8 has been moved into its new position, the shaft 30 should be released and the bolts 25 allowed to enter into engagement with a selected pair of holes 50 or 51, under the influence of the compression springs 32.

When the shelving system is out of use, all of the shelves 4-8 may be locked into the vertical position and the buttress frames 2 and 3 pivoted in the direction of arrows A to fold up against the main frame 1.

The desk illustrated in Figure 3, comprises a square section tubular main frame 61, a pair of square section tubular buttress frames 62,63, hingedly mounted on the main frame 61, and a work surface 64. The buttress.

frames 62,63 are filled in by panels 65,66. The work surface 64 is supported at its formost corners by the buttress frames 62,63.

Rods extend from a region adjacent the rearmost corners of the work surface, parallel to the rear edge of the work surface 64. These rods engage inverted "J"-shaped slots in the main frame 61 (not shown). This arrangement enables the work surface 64 to be inclined at two different angles.

The desk may be folded flat by opening out the buttress frames 62,63 to allow the work surface 64 to pivot about its hinges into the plane of the main frame 61.

The buttress frames 62,63 can the be folded in to lie in a plane parallel to that of the frame 61.

The descriptions given hereinbefore are not intended to be exhaustive and it will be appreciated that the present invention is applicable to other items of furniture, such as seats or lecturns.

Claims (11)

1. A furniture system, comprising buttress means and at least one support surface member, hingedly supported by frame means, wherein the support surface member is pivotable with respect to the frame means and the buttress means extends from the frame means, for supporting and holding the support surface member at any one of at least two different inclinations to the frame means.

2. A furniture system according to claim 1, wherein the buttress means are hingedly connected to the frame.

3. A furniture system according to claim 1 or 2, the support surface member is pivotable from any of said inclinations to a folded position substantially aligned with the frame means.

4. A furniture system according to any claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the furniture system is collapsible without partial disassembly.

5. A furniture system according to any preceding claim, wherein the support surface member is provided with slidable bolt means for engaging respective holes in the frame means.

6. A furniture system according to any preceding claim, wherein the support surface member is provided with slidable bolt means for engaging respective holes in the buttress means.

7. A furniture system according to claim 5, wherein the bolt means and the respective hole form a hinge.

8. A furniture system according to claim 6, wherein the bolts, for engaging the holes in the buttress means, on a support surface member are operable by means of a common actuator.

9. A furniture system according to any preceding claim, wherein said furniture system comprises a shelving system.

10. A furniture system according to any preceding claim, wherein said furniture system comprises a desk.

11. A furniture system as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.