Abstract:
A unique household furnishing capable of transforming from a coffee table to a play table in seconds. Transformation is accomplished by removing the upper surface. The upper surface consists of two (2) halves that may be stored in the drawer of a trundle located below the table. Removal of the upper surface reveals the play surface. The play surface is surrounded by a 2½″ to 4″ high upstanding border (or wall). The upstanding border creates a space between the play surface and the underside of the upper surface. This space allows the storage of cumbersome toys while assembled or partially assembled thus minimizing or eliminating the need to put said toys away after play.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,812 dated Jan. 4, 2000 by Nile Ernst of Nilo Enterprises, Inc.  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSERED RESEACH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX  
         [0003]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The invention pertains to household furnishings and use of same in dwellings where multiple use of space and furniture is necessary. Specifically, the invention transforms from a coffee table to a play table with ease. As a coffee table, the invention has the appearance of a high quality furnishing and is ideal for use in a family room or living room. As a play table, the invention provides a surface that can be used for the construction of puzzles, toy trains, building toys, or arts and craft.  
           [0005]    There are many play tables and coffee tables commercially available, however, the invention is unique in that it fulfills the needs of both furnishings in one embodiment. Most commercially available play tables have one (1) surface located at a convenient height for children to play. These play tables have a toy-like appearance and are not appropriate for use as a coffee table in a living room or family room. Most commercially available coffee tables do not double as an optimum play apparatus. The height of the play surface, the leg clearance below the table, the size of the table, or other geometric restrictions limits the use of a coffee table as a play table. This invention is a solution to the aforementioned caveats of coffee tables and play tables.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The unique design enables the invention to take two (2) distinct forms, a coffee table and a play table. The upper surface is removable. It is held in place by a 1″ wide×¼″ deep groove milled into its underside. The groove laps around the sides of the table. When installed, the invention takes the form of a coffee table. At playtime, the surface is removed and the play table surface is exposed. The play surface is surrounded by the sides of the table creating a 2½″ to 4″ high upstanding border around the play surface. The high border creates a storage space between the underside of the removable upper surface and the top of the play surface. This storage space minimizes or eliminates the need to disassemble cumbersome toys such as racetracks, train tracks, puzzles, and building blocks. This inherent feature may also increase the life of such toys by reducing the wear imposed by repeated assembly and disassembly.  
           [0007]    The removable upper surface consists of two (2) halves. One or both halves can be stored in the drawer of a trundle located underneath the table or elsewhere. The trundle provides a convenient storage area for the removable upper surface and toys and games to be used on the play surface. The invention thereby provides the functionality of a third home furnishing, a toy chest. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1: 3-D illustration of the invention (serves as front-page view).  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2: Table plan view with upper surface removed.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3: Table side elevation view with upper surface removed.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4: Section view with upper surface removed.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5: Top view of upper surface half.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6: View of the underside of the upper surface.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7: Partial cross section showing upper surface installed.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8: Plan view of trundle.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9: Front elevation view of trundle with drawer front closed.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 10: Section view of trundle.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 11: Front elevation view of trundle with drawer front open.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 12: Detail of drawer showing magnet catch, strike plate, and drawer assembly.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    The invention comprises of four main components: the table assembly  1 , upper surface  2 , and trundle  3  as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 through FIG. 4 illustrate the table assembly. The table assembly  1  consists of two short sides  4 , two long sides  5 , a play surface  6 , and four (4) leg assemblies  7 . The play surface  6  is manufactured from ¾″ thick material (wood, plywood, or laminated compressed wood) and is held in place by means of a ¾″ wide groove 8 milled into the two short sides  4  and the two long sides  5 . The ends of the two short sides  4  and two long sides  5  are cut at a 45° angle to create miter joints (or cut straight to make a butt joint). The end of one short side  4  and one long side  5  are glued together making a miter (or butt) joint. Similarly, the end of the long side  5  and the other short side  4  are glued together making another miter (or butt) joint. This process continues until the two short sides  4  and the two long sides  5  surround the play surface  6 . The bottom of the ¾″ wide groove  8  is located approximately 1¼″ from the bottom of each short side  4  and each long side  5 . The width of the two short sides  4  and the two long sides  5  determines the height of storage space between the top of the play surface  6  and the underside of the upper surface  2 . The height of the storage space may range between 2″ and 4″ although experimentation has revealed the optimum height of the storage space to be 2½″.  
         [0022]    One leg assembly  7  is mounted to each corner of the table. The leg assembly  7  is manufactured from two (2) pieces of ¾″ thick wood making an “L” shape in cross section. The leg assembly  7  may be tapered (as shown in the attached drawings) or straight. Each leg assembly  7  is fastened to the two short sides  4  and two long sides  5  using four (4) 1¼″ long wood screws  9  (see FIG. 4).  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 through FIG. 7 illustrate the upper surface  2 . The upper surface  2  consist of two halves. The halves are identical. The preferred design (as shown in FIG. 5) resembles the construction of a flat panel cabinet door. The frame of the half, manufactured from wood no greater than ¾″ in thickness, consists of two stiles  10  and two rails  11 . One edge of each of the two stiles  10  and the two rails  11  is milled using a round over (or Ogee) stile and rail router bit set. The panel  12  of the half is fabricated from ¼″ plywood. An alternate design wood be to edge glue multiple ¾″ thick boards to create a solid wood upper surface. This alternate design, however, makes each half of the upper surface  2  very heavy making it difficult to install and remove. Regardless of the manufacturing method of the upper surface  2 , a 1″ wide groove  13  is milled on the underside of the upper surface  2  (hatched area shown in FIG. 6). The 1″ wide groove  13  is located such that it fits over the two short sides  4  and the two long sides  5  keeping the upper surface  2  in place (see FIG. 7).  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 through FIG. 11 illustrates the trundle  3 . The trundle  3  is manufactured similar to the table assembly  1 . The trundle  3  consists of two trundle ends  14 , back  15 , front  16 , bottom  17 , drawer front  18 , two drawer slides  19 , drawer bottom  20 , two drawer hinges  21 , magnet catch  22 , two wheel supports  23 , and four wheels  24 . The bottom  17  is manufactured from ½″ thick plywood and is held in place by means of a ½″ wide groove 25 milled into the two trundle ends  14 , back  15 , and front  16 . Similar to the two short sides  4  and the two long sides  5 , the ends of the trundle ends  14 , back  15 , and front  16  are glued together until they surround the bottom  17 . Butt joints are used on the drawings attached although other joints (such as miter and dovetail) are possible. The bottom of the ½″ wide groove  25  is located approximately ¼″ from the bottom of front  16  and 2⅞″ from the bottom of the trundle ends  14  and the back  15 . The two wheel supports  23  are glued to the two trundle ends  14  such that the bottoms of the two wheel supports  23  are level with the bottoms of the two trundle ends  14 . The four wheels  24  are screwed to the underside of the two trundle ends  14  and the wheel supports  23  (see FIG. 10). The four wheels  24  are located at the ends of the wheel supports  25 .  
         [0025]    The two drawer slides  19  are screwed to the underside of the bottom  17 . If the upper surface  2  is made from solid wood, the drawer slides  19  are through bolted to the bottom  17 . Bolting is required to support the weight of the upper surface  2 . One side edge of the drawer bottom  17  is screwed to each of the drawer slides  19 . A magnet catch  22  is screwed to the inside of the left (or right) trundle end  14 . The magnet catch  22  keeps the drawer front  18  from opening due to gravity. One side of each of the two drawer hinges  21  is screwed to the bottom inside surface of the drawer front  18 . The other side of the two drawer hinges  21  is screwed to the edge of the drawer bottom  20 . The metal strike  26  provided with the magnet catch  24  is screwed to the inside of the drawer front  18 . The location of the metal strike  26  is such that it contacts the magnet catch  22  when the drawer front  18  is in the upright position. FIG. 12 shows the details of construction of one end of the drawer assembly as described in this paragraph.  
         [0026]    The operation of the invention is simple. To transform the invention from a coffee table to a play table: (1) grasp the top of the sides of the drawer front  18  and pull so that the drawer front opens; (2) pull the drawer front  18  to extend the drawer slides  19  and drawer bottom  17  out from underneath the trundle; (3) remove one of the two halves that make the upper surface  2 ; (4) place it on top of the drawer bottom  17  and push it back so that the half does not interfere with the closing of the drawer front  18 ; (5) remove the other half and place it in the drawer on top of the first half; (6) close the drawer front  18 ; and (7) push the drawer front  18  to retract the drawer slide  19  until the metal strike  26  contacts the magnet catch  22 . To transform the invention from a play table to a coffee table, follow the instruction above in reverse order.