Knock-down furniture assembly

• US 5,069,506 A
• Filed: 09/11/1987
• Issued: 12/03/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Wieland Furniture Company, Inc.
• Original Assignee: R M Wieland Company
• Inventors: Wieland, Roy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Falk, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US07/095,767
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 403/264, 403/297, 403/362, 312/257 R, 312/257 SK, 312/140, 297/440, 108/111
• US Class Current: 297/440.15
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/02 Dismountable chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 4/028 Upholstered chairs, e.g. metal, plastic or wooden chairs
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 12/30 using threaded bolts
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 7/0413 for tubes using the innerside thereof F16B7/025 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/557 Expansible section
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/7041 including set screw

Abstract

A knock-down furniture assembly comprises a joint construction between furniture components wherein a rod has a slip fit engagement with a bushing. The rod is affixed to one component and the bushing to another. In one embodiment, the rod has a head which fits within a hole in a first wood component and is captured by means of cured epoxy resin introduced into the hole around an immediately adjacent portion of the rod'"'"'s shank. The remainder of the rod projects from the first wood component and when the first wood component is moved into assembly with a second wood component, the rod slip fits within the bushing on the second wood component. Set screws are threaded into tapped holes in the sidewall of the bushing and are accessible through aligned holes in the second wood component for actuation by a polygonally shaped wrench engaging similarly shaped sockets in the ends of the set screws for tightening against the inserted rod shank thereby to lock the two components in assembly, and for loosening to unlock them. The disclosed embodiment is in an upholstered chair.

Claims

1. In an article of furniture having selected components which are adapted to be disassembled and reassembled in a given direction, a joint providing for such disassembly and reassembly between said selected components comprising two axially mutually separable slip fitting elements, one said elements being affixed to one of said selected components and another said element being affixed to another of said selected components, said elements being arranged with their axial slip fit in the same direction as said selected components are adapted to be disassembled, and means for releasably locking said elements when they are mutually slip fitted, said locking means comprising set screw means threadably engaged with a transverse threaded bore of said one element and selectively operable transversely of the direction of slip fit to one position for transversely directly contacting and forcefully bearing against said another element and forcing said another element against said one element thereby to lock said elements against axial separation and to another position permitting said elements to axially separate, one of said selected components having a bore aligned with and forming a continuation of said transverse threaded bore of said one element, said set screw means extending into the end of said continuation bore adjacent said one element and being non-protruding from the opposite end of said continuation bore of said one selected component when said set screw transversely forcefully contacts said another element.

2. In an article of furniture having selected components that are disassemblable and reassemblable in a given direction, a joint providing such disassembly and reassembly between respective confronting surfaces of said selected components, said joint comprising two axially mutually separable slip fitting elements, a first said element being affixed to one of said selected components and comprising a hollow tubular sidewall extending from one of said components and perpendicularly to the confronting surface thereof, a second said element being affixed to another of said selected components and comprising a shank, said elements being arranged with said first and second elements axially longitudinally aligned and with the direction of their axial slip fit being the same as the given direction of assembly of said selected components, and means for releasably locking said elements when they are mutually slip fitted comprising means engaged with one of said elements and selectively operable transversely of the direction of slip fit to one position for directly contacting and forcefully bearing against the other said element and forcing said other element against said one element thereby to lock said elements against axial separation and to another position permitting said elements to axially separate.

3. A joint as set forth in claim 2 in which said shank includes a head at one end of said shank, said another selected component having a hole within which said head is disposed, and means to capture said head within said hole.

4. A joint as set forth in claim 3 in which said head and an immediately adjacent part of said shank are both disposed within said hole, and said means to capture said head within said hole comprises filler in said hole around said immediately adjacent part of said shank filling said hole and joining with said another selected component to thereby capture said head.

5. A joint as set forth in claim 4 in which said filler comprises a cured epoxy resin.

6. A joint as set forth in claim 3 in which said tubular sidewall has a cylindrical tubular shape, said shank has a cylindrical rod shape, and said hole has a cylindrical shape.

7. A joint as set forth in claim 6 in which said selected components are mutually abuttable at confronting surfaces, and the outside diameter of said tubular sidewall is greater than the outside diameter of said hole and said tubular sidewall and hole are coaxially aligned such that the outside marginal perimeter at one end of said tubular sidewall abuts a corresponding marginal perimeter portion of said another selected component around said hole when said selected components are mutually abutted.

8. A joint as set forth in claim 2 in which said means selectively operable transversely of the direction of slip fit comprises a threaded element which is threadedly engaged with a transverse threaded bore extending through said tubular sidewall, said threaded element being selectively transversely operable by rotation about the axis of said threaded bore to forcefully bear against the shank of said another element to lock said slip fitting elements against axial separation.

9. A joint as set forth in claim 8 in which said threaded element comprises a set screw having a polygonal socket via which said set screw is selectively transversely operable, said one selected component having a bore aligned with and forming a continuation of said transverse threaded bore, said set screw being non-protruding from said continuation bore of said one selected component when transversely forcefully bearing against the shank of said another element.

10. A joint as set forth in claim 2 in which the article of furniture is a chair having a seat and back section and side section, said side section and said seat and back section being disassemblable and reassemblable in a given direction, and said joint is provided between said side section and said seat and back section.

11. A joint for attaching a first component of an article of furniture to a second component thereof, comprising:

an elongated tubular member, mounted at one end to said first component, said tubular member having an end opening, a sidewall, and an access opening in said sidewall;

an elongated bar member, mounted at one end to said second component and being adapted to axially slip fit into said tubular member through said end opening, said bar member including a transverse threaded bore; and

means for locking said bar member within said tubular member when said bar member and said tubular member are operatively assembled, said locking means comprising a set screw threadedly engaged with said transverse threaded bore, said access opening being located to align with said threaded bore and provide access to said set screw when said bar member is slip fit into said tubular member, said set screw being selectively operable to directly contact and bear against said sidewall of said tubular member.

12. The joint of claim 11 in which said tubular member is a square tube and said bar member is a square bar.

13. The joint of claim 12 in which said transverse threaded bore extends between opposite axially extending edges of said bar member.

14. The joint of claim 11 in which said second component and said square tube are composed of metal and said square tube is mounted to said second component by welding.

15. The joint of claim 14 in which said first component is a section of square tubing, the end of which comprises said elongated tubular member.

16. The joint of claim 11 in which one of said first and second components is a cushion member and the other of said first and second components is a frame member.

17. The joint of claim 16 in which said cushion member includes a foam body having a slit therein, the mounting end of one of said tubular member and said bar member being disposed within said slit for mounting said cushion member, said slit being bonded closed to retain said one of said tubular member and said bar member therein.

18. The joint of claim 17 in which said mounting end of said one of said tubular member and said bar member disposed within said slit includes means for anchoring comprising a crossbar member.

19. The joint of claim 16 in which said tubular member is a cylindrical tube and said bar member is a cylindrical bar.

20. The joint of claim 19 in which said cushion member includes a foam body having a slit therein, the mounting end of the one of said tubular member and said bar member being disposed within said slit for mounting said cushion member and including means for anchoring comprising a crossbar member, said slit being bonded closed to retain said one of said tubular member and said bar member therein.