Furniture Assembly

• US 20090282663A1
• Filed: 05/28/2008
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Inventors: Waugh, Daniel Edward, Eberlein, David C., Martin, Kirt
• Application Number:
  US12/128,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20090282663A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/281.500
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 83/001 Office desks or work-stations combined with other pieces of furniture, e.g. work space management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53978 including means to relatively position plural work parts

Abstract

A furniture assembly kit including at least a first support structure, a plurality of furniture components, each component including a base structure having a component width dimension and a component length dimension, a sub-structure supported by the support structure and having a substantially flat support surface defined by a circumferential edge including first and second lateral edges, the sub-structure forming a lip member along at least portions of the first and second lateral edges, the lip member having a distal upper edge, the space adjacent the support surface and between the lip members being a furniture receiving space and wherein different subsets of the plurality of components can optionally be positioned with the base structures supported by the support surface and with the base structures of the component subsets substantially covering the sub-structure support surface, each different subset including at least two of the plurality of components where at least one of the furniture components includes a storage unit that defines a storage space where the storage space resides at least in part above the furniture receiving space when the storage unit is supported on the support surface.

Claims

1. A furniture assembly kit comprising:

at least a first support structure having top and bottom ends;

a plurality of furniture components, each component including a base structure having a component width dimension and a component length dimension; and

a sub-structure supported by the support structure and having a substantially flat support surface defined by a circumferential edge including first and second lateral edges and first and second oppositely facing end edges, the sub-structure also forming a lip member along at least a portion of the first lateral edge and at least a portion of the second lateral edge, the lip member having a distal upper edge, the space adjacent the support surface and between the lip members being a furniture receiving space; and

wherein, different subsets of the plurality of components can optionally be positioned with the base structures of the component subsets supported by the support surface and with the base structures of the component subsets substantially covering the sub-structure support surface, each different subset including at least two of the plurality of components where at least one of the furniture components includes a storage unit that defines a storage space where the storage space resides at least in part above the furniture receiving space when the storage unit is supported on the support surface.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support surface is substantially rectilinear, each of the base structures has a first component width dimension and a first component length dimension, the receiving space has a structure width dimension between the first and second lateral edges and a structure length dimension between the first and second end edges, the structure width dimension being a multiple of the first component width dimension and the structure length dimension being a multiple of the first component length dimension.

3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the first component width dimension is substantially equal to the first component length dimension.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the structure width dimension is substantially equal to the first component width dimension.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the plurality of components includes at least a subset of counter top tiles, each counter top tile including a top work surface.

6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein each of the storage units includes at least one side wall surface having a storage unit height dimension that is a multiple of the component length dimension and, wherein, each of the storage units is positionable with the side wall surface supported by the support surface and at least one subset of the plurality of components positioned with the base structures of the at least one subset of components simultaneously supported by the support surface so that the support surface is substantially covered.

7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the first component width dimension is substantially equal to the first component length dimension and wherein the storage unit height dimension is substantially twice the first component width dimension.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the plurality of components further includes at least a first component that includes a first base structure, the first base structure having the first component length dimension and a second component width dimension that is substantially half the first component width dimension, the first component positionable with the first base structure supported by the support surface and at least one subset of the plurality of components positioned with the base structures of the at least one subset of components simultaneously supported by the support surface so that the support surface is substantially covered.

9. The assembly of claim 8 further including at least a second component that includes a second base structure, the second base structure having the first component length dimension and the second component width dimension, the first and second components positionable with the first and second base structures supported by the support surface and another subset of the plurality of components positioned with the base structures of components simultaneously supported by the support surface so that the support surface is substantially covered.

10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the first and second components each include a rear wall and wherein the first and second components are positionable with the rear walls adjacent each other and traversing the distance between the first and second lateral edges.

11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lip members extend from the support surface along a lip length dimension to the distal ends, the lip length dimension between one quarter inch and one inch.

12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lip members extend along substantially the entire lengths of the lateral edges of the sub-structure and along the end edges of the sub-structure.

13. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support structure includes first and second leg members linked to the sub-structure adjacent the first and second end edges, respectively, and, wherein, facing surfaces of the first and second leg members form end boundaries of the receiving space.

14. The assembly of claim 1 further including at least first and second pairs of leg members that have first and second heights, respectively, the support structure optionally including at least one of the first and second pairs of leg members such that the sub-structure member is supported at one of the first and second heights.

15. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the sub-structure forms a channel that is recessed from the support surface and that extends between the first and second end edges.

16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the sub-structure is formed of bent sheet metal.

17. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the sub-structure forms at least one opening from the channel to a space below the sub-structure for passing cables from the channel to the space below the sub-structure.

18. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the sub-structure forms at least one opening from the channel to a space below the sub-structure and wherein at least one of a power and a data receptacle is mounted in the at least one opening.

19. The assembly of claim 18 wherein the receptacle is accessible from below the sub-structure.

20. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the sub-structure is formed of bent sheet metal.

21. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the first support structure has a first height dimension, the assembly further including at least a second support structure that has a second height dimension that is different than the first height dimension where the sub-structure is supportable by the either of the first and second support structures.

22. A furniture assembly comprising:

a support structure having top and bottom ends;

a sub-structure supported adjacent the top ends of the support structure and having a substantially flat rectilinear support surface defined by a circumferential edge including first and second lateral edges and first and second oppositely facing end edges, the sub-structure also forming a lip member along at least a portion of the first lateral edge and at least a portion of the second lateral edge, the space adjacent the support surface being a furniture receiving space and having a structure width dimension between the first and second lateral edges and a structure length dimension between the first and second end edges; and

a plurality of furniture components, each component including a base structure having a component width dimension and a component length dimension wherein the component width dimension and length dimension are substantially equal and the component width dimension is substantially equal to the structure width dimension, at least a first of the furniture components further including a side wall member that has a component height dimension that is a multiple of the component width dimension;

wherein;

(a) at least a first subset of the plurality of furniture components including the first furniture component is simultaneously positionable with the base structures on and supported by the support surface and so that the base structures substantially cover the support surface; and

(b) at least a second subset of the plurality of furniture components including the first furniture component is simultaneously positionable with the side surface of the first component and other components on and supported by the support surface and so that the side surface and the other components substantially cover the support surface

23. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the first furniture component is a storage unit that opens to one side and is positionable as part of the first plurality of components so that the first component optionally opens to face one of the first lateral edge, the second lateral edge, the first end edge and the second end edge.

24. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the structure length dimension is a multiple of the component length dimension.

25. The assembly of claim 22 wherein at least a subset of the plurality of components includes counter top tiles that form top surfaces, the top tiles having a tile thickness dimension, the lip members having a lip height dimension that is substantially similar to the tile thickness dimension such that when the tiles are placed in the receiving space, the top surfaces of the tiles are substantially flush with distal edges of the lip members.

26. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the sub-structure forms a channel that is recessed from the support surface and that extends between the first and second end edges.

27. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the sub-structure forms at least one opening from the channel to a space below the sub-structure for passing cables from the channel to the space below the sub-structure.

28. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the sub-structure forms at least one opening from the channel to a space below the sub-structure and wherein at least one of a power and a data receptacle is mounted in the at least one opening.

29. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the sub-structure is formed of bent sheet metal.

30. A furniture assembly comprising:

a support structure having top and bottom ends;

a sub-structure supported by the support structure and having a substantially flat rectilinear support surface defined by a circumferential edge including first and second lateral edges and first and second oppositely facing end edges, the sub-structure also forming a lip member along at least a portion of the first lateral edge and at least a portion of the second lateral edge, the space adjacent the support surface being a furniture receiving space and having a structure width dimension between the first and second lateral edges and a structure length dimension between the first and second end edges; and

a first plurality of furniture components, each component in the first plurality including a base structure having a first component width dimension and a first component length dimension, the first component width dimension substantially equal to the first component length dimension and substantially equal to the structure width dimension;

a second plurality of furniture components, each component in the second plurality including a base structure having a second component length dimension substantially equal to the first component length dimension and a second component width dimension that is substantially half the first component width dimension;

wherein, different subsets of the first and second pluralities of components can optionally be positioned with the base structures of the component subsets supported by the support surface and with the base structures of the component subsets substantially covering the sub-structure support surface, each different subset including at least two components.

31. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the structure length dimension is a multiple of the first component length dimension.

32. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the second plurality of components include storage units that open to one side and wherein the storage components are each positionable on the support surface so that the unit opening faces one of a lateral edge and an end edge of the sub-structure.

33. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the lip members extend along the entire lengths of the first and second lateral edges and at least portions of the first and second end edges.

34. A furniture assembly comprising:

first and second leg members, each of the first and second leg members having top and bottom ends and forming at least one side surface;

a sub-structure having a substantially flat support surface defined by a circumferential edge including first and second lateral edges and first and second oppositely facing end edges, the sub-structure forming a lip member along the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, the space adjacent the support surface and between the lip members being a furniture receiving space; and

wherein, the first end edge of the sub-structure is mounted to the one side surface of the first leg member and the second end edge of the sub-structure is mounted to the one side surface of the second leg member so that the leg members support the sub-structure in an elevated position and so that the facing side surfaces of the first and second leg members form end boundaries of the receiving space.

35. The assembly of claim 34 further including a plurality of furniture components, each component including a base structure having a component width dimension and a component length dimension wherein the component width dimension is substantially similar to a structure width dimension between the lip members and the component length dimensions are multiples of the component width dimension.