US2646325A - Desk top construction - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 19.53 c.-M. ABRAHAMSON DESK TOP CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Sept. 18, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1953 c. M. ABRAHAMSON 2,646,325

DESK TOP CONSTRUCTION Original Filed se tjls, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 PW" I /m C. M. ABRAHAMSON DESK TOP CONSTRUCTION JulyZl, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Sept. 18, 1946 y 21, 1953 c. M. ABRAHAMSON 2,646,325

DESK TOP CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Sept. 18, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 y 1953 ABRAHAMSON 2,646,325

DESKTOP CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Sept. 18, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 21, 195

- Y Charles M. Abraham-on, Aurora; m asstgnomo All-Steel: Equipment Inc., agcurporation of; IlIitno'is:

ri'gii1al' application September 18, 1946, Serial No; 697*,760; now Patent Nlm. 2,560;.400; dated July 11),- 1 951. Divided and application January 29, 1948, Serial Ni).w 5,102

invention relates tm of, a p which. is' panticulatls suited for use a: knockdown pedestal: type: desk adapted for g eneraii, ofii'ce work. The present appiiea:

tion; is? a division and. contin'uatic'mz-in-partv of my earlier application. Seria No. 697-,760, filed September 1-8 1946;. now- U'.- S Patent No. 2 ,560, 400 thedisclosure: 0t which "application: is, in corporated herein by reference.

' The: principat object: of this invention is to provide metal desk tops which are convenient. to make; inexpensive to manutacture light weight,x and attractive to? the eye, the various desk. tops being. soconstnueted. thativarious. sizes at desk tops may be utilized with a single pair of desk-1 pedestals to produce either clerical or executive type" desks;

In. large organizations particularly the current requirements: for? desks' may vary considerably from time totime, audit. is extremelyconvenient.- to have" aknoehdow-n type ofl desk which may be storedv in a minimum 0t space whet-1,. not in. use. and: which; may be equipped with. interchangeable desk tops of. difterent sizes to suit the particular need .v Desks of this ty-pe are becoming.

more and more popular because 0t thGiI Vere sa'ti lity', and the desk constituting the-presentin vention: wholly satisfies those requirements.

Mime: specifically, it: is among the objects oi the present invention to: provide" new and: 1m

proved; d'eski tops for; use a lsno'ckdow-nz type:

pedestal" desk having.. among; others, the follow ing: features:

L. Ides-h". tops which. may be affixed. to and de ta'ched; firoma the: pedestals; quickly" and; easilywi-thout requiring. special? tools or special skills;

2; Interchangeable desk; tops: of different sizes are provided which may be removablyafiixed. to the pedestal type" structure.

32 The'desk tops are ofl-"fght weight, reinforced; hollow' nested pan construction; giving" them ex ceptional' rigidity.

4'. The desk top? has rounded corners ofsp'e ci'al'. construction which facilitate assembly and gives the desk a nice appearance.

5. The desktop is-provided with a continuous molding. made: up: oi straightextruded sections along, the. four sides ofthe topW-h-ich interfit with molded corner caps to give the: desk a finished appearance.

6.. A molding. which. is simple and economical to. formand assemble, andwhichwiltbe extrema lyserviceable.

7 overall; construction is oi minimum 3 Claims. (Cl. 311-161)) to a. desks top construe weight, coiisistent with st'refigtfr, andpresents a-pleasing appearance:

I as viewed from the left rear; and iii which the? 'I'hese and other objects" of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionstaken in: conjunction with the at tached drawings; in which- Fig. '1 is an exploded perspective of the desk desk drawers areomitted and the d'esf: t'opis shown broken away part; 7

Fig: 2} is a front" elevatibnaf view of the desk, assembled; and shows dotted outlii ie the overhangin of an oversi'zed desk top;

Fig; 3* is" an end eievaitionar view of the desk,

I down on it from stove; in whieh the linoleum suh -t'opds broken away in part to reveal the edge.

construction;

Fig: 10 is a cross-sectibnalview of the desk top edge taken onthe line lt lfl-of Fig. 3'';

Fig. 11" is at perspectiire View of the corner reinforcing plate fer the desk top corners Fig. 12 is a cross-sectionaF View" teiien on the line I'2- --l 2 of Fig. 10

F'i'g is ah eievationar view looking at the interior: of the m oldiii'g corner cap;

Ffg. 14 a erspective View" of the molding coriier' capes Viewed from the exterior;

Fig: 15 is" a cross-sectional view oh the line lei- 1? of Fig: is, showin the moldin comer cap; assembled to the; desk. top";

Fig. 1T6 .membier;

assembled, andshows in dotted outline the' o'v-er--- shows a; fn'flldifig: corner cap retaining? the openings 24.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a desk corner, illustrating an alternative means for securing a molding to the periphery of the desk top;

Fig. 18 is a sectional view taken on the line lE-!8 of Fig. 17; and

Fig. 19 is a perspective view form of molding.

To facilitate an understanding of the various The term knockdown as usedi'nthe specification and claims refers to a construction which can be easily assembled or disassembled at the point of use. While, relatively speaking, all parts of a desk could be made readily separable from each other, there is a practical limit to which this may be carried to permit rapid assembly of the component parts at the point of use, and also to permit certain component parts to be constructed as units of permanent form. With this in mind, and referring to Fig. 1, I have chosen the readily separable units to be the desk tops 26, pedestals 2i and 22, and the knee space panel 23. The term knee space refers, of course, to the space bounded by the pedestals, desk top and the rear plate connecting the two pedestals together. This latter plate is the knee space panel 23.

Each pedestal has adjacent the rear edge of the pedestal side facing the knee space a series of spaced aligned openings. Thus-in pedestal 22 spaced openings 24 are provided adjacent the rear edge of pedestal side member 25. The knee space panel 23 has substantially right angle flanges 2S and 21 at the sides thereof which face toward the knee space. Each of these flanges is provided with a series of spaced aligned openings which, for the respective flanges, match the openings at therear of the pedestal sides. Thus, flange 2'! has the spaced aligned openings 23 which match With this construction, when the knee Space panel is placed between the pedestals and the pedestals are moved toward each other until they abut against the knee space panel, the respective openings in the knee space panel and pedestals can be aligned so that bolts can be passed therethrough to detachably connect the parts together.

The pedestal sides have inturned substantially horizontal flanges at the tops thereof. With reference to Fig. 1, sides 29 and SD of the pedestal 2| are provided with flanges 3! and 32. Each of these flanges has openings therein, such as openings 33 and 34, in flange 3| and openings 35 and 36 in flange 32. Pedestal 22 is similarly constructed.

The desk top is provided with openings through the bottom thereof which, when the desk top is placed in position over the pedestals, match up with the openings in the substantially horizontal flanges at the tops of the pedestal sides. In the desk top construction shown in Fig. 1 the reinforcing Z-bars have attached thereto, at appropriate points, integrally threaded nuts held by nut retainers or by welding, and these nuts receive the threaded bolts used to couple the desk top to the pedestals. For example, the upturned flange 3'! of the desk top bottom pan 38 is broken away at 39 and so to reveal nut retainer members 6i, and 12, each of whichretains an internally threaded nut, mounted on the bottom flange of Z-bar 43. For purposes of reference, the openof the alternative ill 4 ings in the nuts held by nut retainers M and 42 are identified as M and 45.

The openings "l4 and 15 are spaced apart the same distance as the openings 33 and 3 so that when the desk top is placed in position over the desk pedestals, opening 44 will match up with o ening 33 and opening 45 will match up with opening 34. Similarly, certain of the longitudinal Z-bars #6. have mounted thereon internally threaded nuts held by nut retainers. Thus, nut retainers 4i and 58 are shown mounted on the indicated bottom flanges of longitudinal Z-bars 46. These nut retainers retain internally threaded nuts, the openings of which are indicated at 39 and 5d are so positioned that when the desk top is placed in position over the desk pedestals, opening 49 will match up with opening 35 and opening 56 will match up with opening 36. The construction at the other end of the desk top 20 is the same, so that thisend of the desk can be coupled to pedestal 22. Obviously, when the top is positioned over the desk pedestals so that the openings in the pedestal side flanges coincide with the internally threaded openings in the nuts retained within the desk top, threaded bolts can be passed through the pedestal side flanges and threaded into the nuts retained in the desk top to detachably secure the desk top to the ped- V estals.

When a larger size desk top is used which overhangs the pedestals at the sides and rear of the desk, the nut retainers, and nuts retained thereby, are positioned within the desk top in from the rear edge and sides thereof sufliciently so that the nut openings will match up with the openings in the pedestal side flanges. For example, in the desk top construction shown in Fig. 5, wherein flanged channel members are used to reinforce the desk top, the nuts'and nut retainers are positioned for connecting the desk top to one ped estal, at El, 52, 55 and Fi l. Referring to Fig. 6, this positioning is in the valleys of flanged channel members 55 and 58. In this arrangement the edge 5'! is the rear edge of the desk top; i. e., the edge which overhangs at the rear of the desk. For the pedestals illustrated in Fig. l, the threaded openings at 5!, 52, 53 and 54 would match up with the openings in the pedestal side flanges 58 and 59 of pedestal 22. Thus, the internally threaded opening at 5! would match up with the opening 6!] in flange 59, and the internal threaded opening at 52 would match up with the opening 5| in flange 58. Likewise, the threaded openings at 53 and 5:3 match up with the openings in the pedestal side flanges at the forward part of pedestal 22; i. e., the openings corresponding in position to the openings 35 and 33 shown for pedestal 2 i In assembling the desk top, pedestals and knee space panel, th top is first placed underside up, preferably on a pair of horses or a bench. On to are placed the right-hand and left-hand pedestals, their drawers removed, at their respective ends of the inverted table top, with the drawer openings up and the open top of the pedestals toward the assemblers, th distance between the pedestals being slightly greater than the length of the knee space panel 23. The knee space panel is inserted between the pedestals, flush side down, the pedestals are moved toward the knee space panel until. they abut it, and the openings 28 in the knee space panel are aligned with the corresponding openings 24 in the pedestal sides 25 and 33. these openings and tightened to retain there parts Bolts are passed throughacne-wee consisting'of'the twopedestals and the knee space panel; is slid slightly to the-rear; away fromthe assemblers. and rotated 90' degrees t'ow-ardatheassemblersso that the operr tops of. the pedestals: are now adjacent-to th underside of the desk top. Theopenings inithe pedestal side topflangesare aligned with the corresponding openings in the bottom of thedesktop. Asthe drawer openings are now facing the assemblers, convenient access-- may be had to the interior; andfastening screws or boltsare inserted through theopeni-ngs in the pedestal side top flanges and screwed intoth'e-nuts retained within the desktop. TPIe-cm;-- pl'ete'd assembly is removed from' the support, inverted so-that it now stands'onthe pedestals; and the drawers replaced. course; this method of: assembl'yismerely'illustrative and the desk com ponents which Lhave illustrated could be as sembledinother manner but in the.- method described ease of access may be had for the in sertion and tighteningof' allconnecting bolts Top construction.

Foruseinterchangeably with thesaniepedestah I be noticed that the edgcsior this size; of. desk top are substantially flush with: the. outer: sides. backs and fronts of: the desk pedestals;

The overhanging of: aideslt 6013 011 greater. width. than- 2'8", say: 36' x- 60", is indicated by the dotted outline 62: in Fig; 3:. Similarly; when an evenlarg r size ofid'esk. top, say, 36" x; 7'6 is used will not only overhang: the: rear: of the? pedestals,- as is indicated. at 62 in. Fig.3 3, but: will; alsooverhang the: outer: sides: of. the pedestals;. as is indicated at 1 6:31 Fig; 2

These" varioussizes"- of desk. topssdiffer only in: size andi in: details on reinforcement; Otherwise,

tliey E11 iHGiildE EQhOHbWIIEStEdIpR D. construction with reiniorcingmemberswithin the hollow space between th e pans andi at-the edges. thereof, and.

' additional corner reinforcing members plus:- a topsurface-covering' andmofdihg. tor the edge of the desktopa. M

Thusirei erringdo 1:, the standard: size desk; top 29- is shown with: the: linoleum topsurface- -6 5 and the sheetametal subr-topsiifir,.,upon which the, linoleum surface. 65 lies; broken awayto expose. the: reinforcing members within the: desk top: The sub-top: 6'6 is: coextensive with the top: area. of the desk top andzhas downturned flanges: along. its straight edges; .nient isshown; in. Figs. Q'and: 10. Referring to Fig. 9; the sub-top; (in is; shown ashaving; a-beaded edge; it from: which extends downwardly and integral therewith a. flange 1 I, which; isinclined slightly toward. the interior? of the; desktop. At

its lower extremity; the flange 'H is bent. hori-- zontal, as is shown at' 1:2'. The linoleum surface 65 overhessuh-top 6i: throughoutthe lattersiem the area and a. beveled? edge: is. From: this downturnedflanges: on the sub- -top'. 'Ilhus the bottom: surface of the desk; which is termed; the fillertopfis designated at 38: (see Fig. 9:), and

has the uptu-rned flange portion 'ldwhi'chzhas the same slope as flange members H: onv the sub-top 6%; Obviously, although flang 5:11;- is shown for only two of the-straight. sidesofithe. filler top 38, each of the foursides. thereof has an upturned flange. 'With thisarrangementandisince flanges 'M and' H are substantially of equal height, the sub top 666 will. nestwithin the filler: top 38 to form: ahollowtop construction. In Fig. 10 this nested relation is. shownrand it will. be. noticed that flanges iii is set inward a sufiicient. amount,

- by virtuaof beaded portion 10, to accommodate aligned. openingssuchzas 7.5 and. it; into which sen -tapping screws can; be threaded to retain.

the sub-top. and filler top together.

The. hollow nested.pans',..i.. e., the sub-top: 6.6 and filler top 38, are reinforced by a plurality of. Z bars. Referring to 'Figs'; 1 and 4, Z-bars 63;. B -li, 683 and Bit form. a. rectangular outline ad- Z-bars. 4'3.

jacent the? flanges: of the sub-top. and extend crosswiseof. the desk top; thatis,

inlthe direction of. the Width oflthe desk top and v Z'-bars: 6:1 and 69? extend lengthwise of. the desk tOpi. Eire positioning of: these particular Z-bars with respect to they flanges of the sub-top canbe best observed in Fig.9.- There, .Z -bar 69 has its lower horizontal'fiangTT overlying the inturned horizontal portion 12 of flange l1 and has its upper horizontal flange 1'8 attachedtov the'underside oi -sub-top 66 The arrangement is the same for Z-bars adjacent the edges of the other In all cases the; lower sides of the desk top. horizontal flanges of th Zi-bars. extend outward from the center of the: desk and the upper hori zonta-l flangdsmiltheZ-bars extend inward toward. the center of the desk.' The upper horizontal.

tangular'tramcwork for the hollow desk top, addiand l. Their uppen' horizontal: flanges contact.v

The: sub top" flangearrange-- description it is evident that. the: linoleum: surface.

rests upona sheet metal plate which has! down ward'iy extending skirts at the straight: sides: thereof and that these skirts are: provided? with.

int'urnedf flanges; In effect? the sub-top is an in- Verified. shallow pan construction. r

Th bottom surface of the desktop is likewise a. shallow pan, construction", but it' has upturned flanges at the edges thereofwhichmate witii-the ml webs lie against are spot; welded. to.

tional Zi-bars extend. lengthwise of the desk. top and likewise lie: between. the sub-top and filler tops- These Z.-bars= are indicated at so, Figs. 1'

the underside of thesuh-top 66, and theirlower horizontalflanges; contactthe upper surface of series-oi flangedichannels 61! is placed crosswise of thedesktop with the channel web 81 lying against the upper surface: of the filler top 82. In

this-position the channel flanges 83 face upward.

thede's-k' top, area second series of flanged cha-n- I nel members 8*4 As: istshown: iIIIFi'gL- 7,. the chan the underside of the sub-top 8B, and the channel flanges 81 abut against flanges 83 of the cross channels 88. Where the respective channel flanges so abut, the channel members are preferably spot welded together.

Also, where the cross channels 89 extend under the top flanges of the edge Z-bars which extend lengthwise of the desk top, such as top flange I9I, an additional flanged channel section 88, shown in Fig. 8, is provided to fill the space between the ends of the cross channels and the top flanges of the lengthwise edge Z-bars, thereby providing an additional reinforcement at these points. As is shown in Fig. 8, the channel section or spacer clip 88 is oversized as compared to the cross-channels 80 whereby the web portion I92 of channel 88 extends across the flanges 83 of the cross-channel 89 and is spot welded thereto. The flanged portions, such as I93, abut against and are welded to the underside of Z-bar top flange I9 3. It will be understood that a channel clip 98 is provided at each end of each crosschannel 89.

The crisscross arrangement of the flanged channel reinforcing members gives a reticulated or grid construction which is very strong and which adequately strengthens the overhanging edges of the desk top. Obviously, if the desk top is not to overhang the sides of the desk but only the rear of the desk, then fewer crisscross channel members 89 will be required.

Top corner construction Additional reinforcement is provided for the rounded corners of the desk top by means of a corner plate which flts into the desk corners. This corner plate is illustrated in Fig. 11 and includes an inclined plate portion 89 having a substantially horizontal arc-shaped top flange or shelf 90 integral therewith, and a substantially horizontal bottom flange 9! integral therewith. As is shown in Fig. 9, the downwardly extending flanges of the sub-top 69, such as flange "H, extend only along the straight edges of the sub-top 66 and are discontinuous at the rounded corner portions'of the sub-top. For example, see Fig. 9, the sub-top flanges shown discontinue at 94 and 95. This leaves gaps between the sub-top flanges, said gaps being located at the rounded corners of the desk top and the corner reinforcing members, illustrated in Fig. 11, fill these gaps to complete the flange arrangement of the sub-top" and also to strengthen the desk corners.

Referring to Fig. 9, the plate portion 89 fills the gap between edges 94 and 95 of the sub-top flanges H and 91, and the arc-shaped upper horizontal shelf 99 on plate 89 abuts against the underside of the projecting rounded corner portion 96 of sub-top 65 and is coextensive therewith. Corner plate side flanges 92 and 93 lie against the inner sides of sub-top flanges 91 and 'II and are spot welded thereto. This positioning is indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 9. Also, the lower horizontal flange III on plate member 89 extends inward toward the center of the desk top, and tab members extending from the flange III overlie the lower horizontal flange portions of the subtop flanges to form a substantially continuous lower horizontal flange throughout the lower periphery of the desk edge. For example, tab member 98, shown in Fig. 11, overlies flange member I2, shown in Fig. 9, the lower flange H of the Z-bar 99 being suitably cut away for this purpose. The filler top 38 has a flange portion 99 inclined upwardly and of substantially the same size as the plate member 89. Thus, when the sub-top is nested into the filler top, the inner surface of flange 99 abuts against the outer surface of plate 89. Openings I99 and MI are formed in plate 89 and are aligned with openings I02 and I93 in flange 99. The arrangement of parts, described for one corner of the desk top, is the same for all four corners of the desk top.

Molding construction The exposed surfaces of the filler top flanges, such as flange 14, and the exposed surfaces of the corner flanges, such as flange 99, are covered by molding. The molding is formed in straight strip portions which cover the straight edges of the desk top and corner cap portions which overlie the ends of the straight strip portions, and which also coverthe rounded edges of the desk top.

The appearance of the straight strip molding is shown at IN in Fig. 2, and I95 in Fig. 3, and a section I96 of this molding is illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 9 and in cross-section in Fig. 10. As will be seen in both Figs. 9 and 10, the strip molding which is preferably an extruded plastic molding, is, in cross-section, a crescent configuration having integral inturned flanges I09 and I69 at the ends of a crescent-shaped wall portion I94. The outer surface of the molding is artistically grooved, as indicated at I91. In the example shown, the inturned flanges I98 and I99 abut against the outer surface of flange I l on flller top 38. The top of the strip molding is provided with a beveled flange III'I, which lies against the beveled edge E3 of the linoleum surface 65 to form a smooth continuation of this surface.

The strip molding is retained in place by spring flnger fasteners, such as fastener I I I, illustrated in Figs. 10 and 12. Fastener I I I has a pair of forwardly extending spring fingers I I2 and I I3, and also has flat type spring arms H4 and I I5. The flat type spring arms II5 bear against the inner surface H6 of the crescent-shaped wall portion I9 3, and the spring" arms H4 bear against the interior surfaces of flanges I98 and I09 on the strip molding, i. e., the surfaces that face the inner surface N6 of wall portion I94. Thus, the spring arms H4 and H5 wedge the springrfastener III in place within the strip molding. When so positioned the spring fingers I I2 and I I3 extend from the interior of the strip molding, and, in the example shown, are inserted through aligned openings II! and H8 in flanges I4 and II, respectively. Opening H1 is slightly larger than H8, and the spring fingers H2 and H3 engage the sides of opening I I8 to retain the molding in place. A plurality of aligned openings, such as H? and H8, are provided along the edges of the desk top, and a corresponding number of fasteners are used to'retain the strip molding in place. Prior to attaching the straight molding strips to the edges of the desk top, the spring fasteners are easily inserted into each molding strip from either end thereof.

Molded plastic corner caps, such as is illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, complete the molding around the desk edges. These corner caps are, of course, rounded to conform to the round desk top corners and are grooved on the exterior in the same manner as is the strip molding, so that a continuous molding appears. In effect the corner caps are elbow sections which have integral offset flanges at the ends of the elbow which overlie the ends of the strip molding. Thus, referring to Figs. 13 and 14, each corner capis ifianges ,I-2I and 7 I22. jects inward from the top portion of wall 120.

shownas including an elbow shaped wall portion ,I 2.0, of crescentshape as viewed in a crosssection taken ata right angle rto'the elbow curve, see Fig. :15, and having offset-flanges I21 .and I22 integral therewith. The ends of the strip Emolding' fit into notched recesses I23 and I24 in the A'shelf section 125 pro and projecting beyond the-strengthening ribs I27, are a pair of post members I20 and I29. When the molding corner cap is attached to a corner of the desk top, such as is illustrated in Fig. 9, post member I28 extends through aligned Openings I03 and I], and post member I29 extends through aligned openings I02 and I00. The arrangement is the same at all four corners of the desk top.

To retain the corner caps in position atthe corners of the desk top, a spring finger gripping member, shown at I30 in Fig. 16, is provided for each set of aligned corner openings, such as, for example, aligned openings I02 and I00. The gripping member I30 has an annular collar portion I3I which abuts against the outer surface of the filler top corner flanges, such as flange 99. v

A second annular collar portion I32 abuts against the inner surface of the corner plate portions,

such as 89. In this manner the gripping member I30 is held at the aligned openings, such as I02 and I00, so that when one of the molding corner cap post members, such as post' I29, is

inserted through the aligned openings it will also pass centrally through the gripping member I30. Gripping fingers I33 and I34 are biased against the outer surface I95 of the post member, and are turned inward to bite into this surface, should one attempt to pull the corner cap away fromthe desk top. By this construction the molding cor-- ner caps are easily applied to the desk corners and are strongly held in position thereon.

In Figs. 17, 18 and 19 there is illustrated an alternative form of molding and means for mounting the molding for use with the desk tops previously described. The molding, generally designated 2 I 5, is made up of an extruded plastic outer covering 2I6, having generally the same sheathn auch imetal and plastic construction -wa-rdly extending arms 222. "The'mount'in'g' strip 221 is adapted to -bereceivedxwithin the inner crescentof the moiding asseniblyZIE, with arms '22? hearing against 'the-iinner 'faces of the metal legs 220. The-mountingstrip 22I may -be' =affIXBd' to the desk "as by means of self-tapping screws? Midi/hick screws may-be engaged within holes I5 and I5 of Fig. 9 and serve to assemble the filler top 30 with the sub-top 63.

The mounting of the alternative form of molding is a simple procedure. After the sub-top 5S and filler top 38 have been nested together, the mounting strip 22I is attached to the top assembly by means of screws 224. The side molding ZIE may be then slid into place from any corner, the molding sliding longitudinally along the mounting strips with arms 22.! engaged behind flanges 220 of the reinforcing member 2 I9. Corner caps, as previously described, may be emplaced, and these serve to prevent the molding from moving longitudinally on the mounting strips. 1 I,

t will be apparent that the mounting clips I I I may be used to mount the alternative form of molding, or that the alternative form of mounting, consisting of mounting strips 221, may be used as a method for mounting molding I06.

While I have described particular embodiments of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to be restricted thereto, but that I intend'to cover all modifications thereof which are apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within the subject and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A desk top comprising a sub-top having downwardly extending marginal flanges, a filler top having upwardly extending marginal flanges crescent-shaped configuration as the molding previously described. Grooves 'I0'I may be formed in the outer face of the plastic to provide the desired finished appearance. The plastic sheath has two inner, substantially parallel, legs 2II to abut the outer flange surface I4 of the desk top, and a beveled flange 2I8 which lies against the beveled edge'13 of the linoleum surface 65. v

In order that the molding be less frangible, I prefer to use a plastic, such as ethyl-cellulose, which is not brittle even at fairly low temperatures and which will withstand moderate high temperatures without deformation. To give the plastic suflicient rigidity to maintain the desired shape I provide a steel liner 2 I 9, the exterior confi urationof which is substantially the same as the interior configuration of the plastic sheath 2I6, with legs 220 of the liner 2 I9 bearing against the inner faces of the'legs 2I'I of the plastic overlapping the marginal flanges of the sub-top, fastening means securing said overlapping flanges together, reinforcing members between said tops extending between opposed portions of said marginal flanges, and means for securing at least some of said reinforcing members to the under side of said sub-top. 1 2. In a desk top as set forth in claim 1, the combination therewith of a molding secured to said overlapping flanges and masking said fastening means.

3. A desk top comprising a sub-top having downwardly extending marginal flanges, a filler top having upwardly extending marginal flanges overlapping the marginal flanges of thesub-top,

a first series of parallel reinforcing members beand located beneath said first series of members in abutting relationship and at right angles thereto, and means for securing at least some of said first series of members to theunder side of the sub-top and for securing at least some of said abutting and crossing members rigidly together to form a unitary, rigid, lightweight top construction.

CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON.

Number Name Date Wassenius Aug. 26, 1890' Swift Mar. 16, 1926 Gloekler Mar. 27, 1928 OConor Sept. 18, 1928 Hall Oct. 8, 1929 Sara July 21, 1931 O'Connor et a1. Mar. 29, 1932 Bales May 23, 1933 Corduan Aug. 22, 1933 Number 12 Name Date Klee Apr. 10, 1934 Anderson May 15, 1934 Obermayer June 18, 1935 Dalton Sept. 1, 1936 Wood July 27, 1937 Goodman Oct. 1, 1940 Braund Jan. 14, 1941 Page Apr. 1, 1941 Nelson Apr. 8, 1941 Zalkind Feb. 3, 1942 Raggio Sept. 29, 1942 Deutsch Oct. 20, 1942 Burke Sept. 4, 1945 Norquist Oct., 25, 1949 Larson et a1. Nov. 1, 1949 Abrahamson Nov. 28. 1950

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