Modular furniture

• US 5,678,706 A
• Filed: 01/03/1995
• Issued: 10/21/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rollpa International, S.R.O.
• Original Assignee: Rollpa International, S.R.O.
• Inventors: Kocandrle, Jiri, Husak, Vaclav
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin-Shue, Alvin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SNAPP, SANDRA S
• Application Number:
  US08/367,726
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 211/189, 211/186, 211/187, 211/182, 108/56.1, 108/51.3, 108/153, 403/171, 403/177, 403/292, 229/100, 229/121, 428/34.2, 428/577, 428/582, 383/119
• US Class Current: 211/189
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 47/005 Combination of corners and bars
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 87/005 Linkable dependent elements with the same or similar cross-section, e.g. cabinets linked together, with a common separation wall
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 96/20 Furniture panels or like furniture elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/342 Polyhedral

Abstract

Modular furniture is disclosed wherein a system of tubes, preferably made from laminated paper or paperboard, build a system of rectangular frame-like subassemblies. The fill-in panels used in the subassemblies are of the type of hollow prisms, usually rectangular prisms, open at both ends and provided at the open ends with inwardly rounded side edges compatible in size with the surface of the structural tubes. Several embodiments of the fill-in panels are disclosed inclusive of cardboard blanks from which they may be produced. The invention further advances the art of inexpensive modular furniture and its manufacture.

Claims

1. A modular furniture kit comprising:

(a) a plurality of open ended, generally cylindric tubular support modules;

(b) a plurality of angular connectors, each connector comprising a plurality of stems projecting from a center of the connector and disposed at right angles relative to each other, said stems being compatible in size with the tubular support modules for inserting each into one end of one of said support modules to thus connect two of said support modules to each other to form a three-dimensional structure comprising a plurality of rectangular frame sections disposed at right angles to one another;

(c) a plurality of fill-in panels, each fill-in panel being of a quadrangular prism-like configuration compatible with said support modules for securement of one or more of the panels in a selected one of said rectangular frame sections, each of said panels, when assembled, including;

(i) two spaced-apart, quadrangular and generally planar, opposed face boards comprised of a first board and a second board, said boards defining faces of said panel; and

(ii) four peripheral edge portions comprised of;

(1) a pair of opposed edge wall portions integral with the first and/or second board and defining two opposed edges of the panel;

(2) a first rectangular hollow edge section defined by a first edge of each of said first and second boards and by a first end edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(3) a second generally rectangular hollow edge section opposed to the first edge section and defined by a second end edge of each of said first and second boards and by a second edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(iii) said first and second end edges of each of said edge wall portions being concavely rounded at a radius generally corresponding to the outside radius of the support modules of the respective frame section;

whereby, in an assembled state, the end edges of said edge wall portions engage the surface of the support modules at opposed sides of said rectangular frame section.

2. The kit of claim 1, wherein both the tubular support modules and the fill-in panels are made from paperboard.

3. The kit of claim 1, wherein each fill-in panel is of the type of an elongated prism made from a single blank adapted to be folded into a three-dimensional shape, the blank comprising

(a) a rectangular central portion corresponding, in an assembled state, to one of the opposed edge wall portions;

(b) said one of the opposed edge wall portions being hingedly connected along both longitudinal sides thereof, with a first side of two main rectangular portions corresponding, in an assembled state, to said face boards of said prism;

(c) the second sides of said main rectangular portions being each hingedly connected along a further longitudinal bend with an outer section,

(d) said outer sections being provided with joining elements for mutual connection of the outer sections such that, in a folded, assembled state, they define the other of said edge wall portions.

4. The kit of claim 3, wherein the joining elements are half-moon shaped tabs projecting from outer edges of said outer sections and provided each with a pair of straight incisions coextensive with the respective outer edge and extending into each tab from both sides thereof, the tabs being arranged in alternating fashion whereby a peak portion of the tab of one of the outer sections is placed opposite an intermediate portion of the other one of the outer sections, said intermediate portion being disposed between two adjacent tabs of the other one of the outer sections.

5. The kit of claim 2, wherein each fill-in panel is of the type of an elongated hollow prism open at both ends thereof, the prism being formed from a pair of channel-shaped halves each made from a blank, The halves having each a bottom portion and a pair of opposed longitudinal flange sections, the channel-shaped halves being inserted into each other with flange sections of the halves overlaying each other and said bottom portions defining spaced-apart faces of the fill-in panel, said halves being connected by way of tabs projecting from one of the flanges into a slot provided in an adjacent flange of the other half, whereby each of the edge wall portions is formed by two overlapped flanges, one of each of said halves.

6. The kit of claim 2, wherein an elongated reinforcement member having a generally S-shaped cross-sectional configuration is disposed inside fill-in panel and engages inside surfaces thereof.

7. The kit of claim 1, comprising a plurality of said fill-in panels, and supplementary fill-in elements adapted to be inserted in gaps between the fill-in panels.

8. The kit of claim 1, wherein the edge wall portions of the panel in an assembled state are divergent relative to each other in a direction toward one of the first and second boards, whereby the panel has a trapezoidal contour in an end view.

9. The kit of claim 1, wherein the face boards are trapezoidal such that the opposed edge wall portions are divergent relative to each other in the direction from said first hollow edge section to said second hollow edge section.

10. The kit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the face boards is provided with a decorative layer at an outside surface thereof.

11. A paperboard or the like blank system for providing a fill-in panel of a generally quadrangular configuration compatible with a rectangular frame section of modular furniture or the like, said frame section being comprised of generally cylindric peripheral support modules, said blank including:

(a) a generally rectangular first edge panel section including two opposed, straight sides and two opposed ends;

(b) a pair of quadrangular face sections, each having two opposed straight sides and two opposed straight ends;

(c) a generally rectangular second edge panel section; and

(d) each of said opposed ends of each of said edge panel sections having the shape of a concave, generally semi-circular edge the radius of which corresponds to that of the outer surface of said peripheral support modules;

(e) scorelines hingedly arranging said panel sections relative to one another to provide an open ended hollow quadrangular prism wherein the edge panel sections are parallel with each other and the face sections are parallel with each other to define, on assembling the fill-in panel, a quadrangular prism-like structure open at both ends thereof;

(f) joining elements for joining selected panel sections one to another to maintain said quadrangular prims in an assembled state.

12. The blank system of claim 11 of the type of a single blank.

13. The blank system of claim 11 comprising a pair of identical blanks.

14. The blank system of claim 12, wherein:

(a) said first edge panel section is hinged at each side thereof to one side of each of said face sections;

(b) the second edge panel section is comprised of two second edge panel subsections, each hinged with its one side to the other side of one of said face sections and having an opposed free edge side,

(c) the combined width of the subsections as measured between their sides being generally equal to the width of the first edge panel section;

(d) said joining elements being defined by a plurality of alternating tabs and tab receiving slits;

(e) said tabs being generally half-moon shaped and projecting from the free edge of each panel subsection at a generally equidistantly spaced apart, relationship in which there is an intermediate edge portion of the free edge of the respective panel subsection between each pair of adjacent tabs;

(f) the tabs of each of the opposed panel subsections alternate such that, viewed laterally, the tab of one panel subsection faces the respective intermediate portion of the free edge of the opposed panel subsection;

(g) said tab receiving slits are coextensive with the respective intermediate edge portion and extend by way of pairs of cuts into adjacent tabs such that the distance between the ends of the cuts corresponds to the maximum width of the tab of the opposed panel subsection.

15. The blank system as claimed in claim 13, wherein each of the blanks comprises:

(a) a quadrangular face section having two opposed sides and two opposed ends;

(b) a first side edge panel subsection hingedly secured by a first scoreline to one side of the face section and having concavely rounded end edges;

(c) a second side edge panel subsection hingedly secured by a second scoreline to the other side of the face section and having concavely rounded end edges;

(d) a plurality of tabs integral with the first side edge panel subsection disposed at a predetermined spacing along said first side edge panel subsection; and

(e) a plurality of tab receiving slots in the second side edge panel subsection adapted to receive said tabs and disposed at the said predetermined spacing along said second side edge panel subsection;

whereby each of said blanks is adapted to form a channel-shaped member fixedly interengageable with the channel-shaped member formed from the other blank by engaging the tabs in the tab receiving slots to form therewith a hollow open-ended rectangular prism-like structure.

16. A panel of a generally quadrangular configuration for securement in a rectangular frame section of a modular furniture or the like structure, said frame section being defined by cylindric frame members, said panel defining the general shape of a flattened, hollow, quadrangular prism-like structure open at both ends and including:

(a) two spaced-apart, generally parallel and generally planar and quadrangular face boards comprised of a first board and a second board, said boards defining faces of said panel; and

(b) four peripheral edge portions comprised of;

(1) a pair of opposed, generally solid edge wall portions integral with the first and/or second board and defining two opposed edges of the panel;

(2) a first generally rectangular hollow edge section defined by a first edge of each of said first and second boards and by a first end edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(3) a second generally rectangular hollow edge section opposed to the first edge section and defined by a second end edge of each of said first and second boards and by a second edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(c) said first and second end edges of each of said edge wall portions being concavely rounded at a radius generally corresponding to the outside radius of the support modules of said frame section.

17. A modular furniture unit comprising:

(a) a plurality of open ended, generally cylindric tubular support modules made from laminated paper-like material;

(b) a plurality of angular connectors, each connector comprising a plurality of stems projecting from a center of the connector and disposed at right angles relative to each other, said stems being firmly inserted in ends of the tubular support modules connecting said support modules to each other and forming a three-dimensional structure comprising a plurality of rectangular frame sections disposed at right angles to one another;

(c) a plurality of fill-in panels made from a paperboard, each fill-in panel being of a rectangular prism-like configuration, one or more of said fill in panels being secured in selected rectangular frame sections, each of said panels including;

(i) two spaced-apart, rectangular, parallel and generally planar, opposed face boards comprised of a first board and a second board, said boards defining faces of said panel; and

(ii) four peripheral edge portions comprised of;

(1) a pair of parallel, opposed edge wall portions integral with the first and/or second board and defining two opposed edges of the panel;

(2) a first rectangular hollow edge section defined by a first edge of each of said first and second boards and by a first end edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(3) a second generally rectangular hollow edge section opposed to the first edge section and defined by a second end edge of each of said first and second boards and by a second edge of each of said edge wall portions;

(iii) said first and second end edges of each of said edge wall portions being concavely rounded at a radius corresponding to the outside radius of the support modules of the respective frame section;

whereby the end edges of said edge wall portions engage the surface of the support modules at opposed sides of said rectangular frame section.