Decorative sleeve for furniture leg

A sleeve assembly for a furniture leg. The assembly has a central bore with an open end and is preassembled with decorative members. The bore is inserted onto the leg. The decorative members are preferably lengths of bamboo which are secured to a sleeve by rawhide. A plate to support the bamboo is provided at the end of the sleeve and a fastener extends through the plate to attach the support to the leg. The plate is also used to connect the sleeve to the leg. A method of preparing a decorative furniture leg assembly using the sleeve is also presented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to decorative furniture. It is especially well 
suited to provide a decorative sleeve with bamboo secured thereto which 
can be preassembled for later attachment to a furniture leg. A method of 
assembly is also described. 
B. Description of the Art 
It is known to use bamboo to decorate table legs. A prior art technique 
attaches the bamboo around and directly to a table leg by rawhide 
strapping. While decorative, this type of attachment presents assembly 
problems in that the entire table must be on hand during strapping of the 
bamboo. In addition, different leg geometric configurations can pose 
attachment problems. 
Thus, it will be appreciated that there is a need for an improved means of 
decorating furniture legs with surrounding bamboo rods. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In one aspect, the invention provides a decorative sleeve for a furniture 
leg. The sleeve has an open end adapted to be placed over a furniture leg. 
A plurality of essentially cylindrical members is positioned over the 
sleeve. Wrapping means secure the cylindrical members to the sleeve, and 
there are means for connecting the sleeve to the furniture leg. In a 
preferred embodiment, the cylindrical members are lengths of bamboo, and 
the wrapping means is rawhide. 
In another aspect, the means for connecting the sleeve to the furniture leg 
includes a support plate member for the cylindrical members, the plate 
being positioned at an end of the sleeve. 
In yet another aspect, the means for connecting the sleeve to the furniture 
leg is a fastener extending through the support plate member. 
In an especially preferred embodiment, the decorative sleeve is connected 
to a table leg, the table leg member is round, and a spacer member is 
placed between the leg and the sleeve. 
A method of preparing a decorative leg assembly using the above sleeve is 
also provided. 
The objects of the invention therefore include: 
a. providing a sleeve assembly for a furniture leg which can be 
preassembled; 
b. providing a sleeve assembly of the foregoing type which can be securely 
connected to a furniture leg; 
c. providing a sleeve of the foregoing type which affords a stable support 
of decorative members; 
d. providing a sleeve of the foregoing type which is adaptable to being 
connected to furniture legs of various geometric configurations and 
suitable to allow easy replacement in the case of damage; and 
e. providing a method of preparing a furniture leg assembly of the 
foregoing type which does not expose the furniture tops to unnecessary 
risks of damage. 
These and still other objects and advantages of the invention will be 
apparent from the description which follows. In the detailed description 
below, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in 
reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments do not represent 
the full scope of the invention. Rather, the invention may be employed in 
other embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a sleeve assembly, generally 10, is connected to a 
furniture leg 12 supporting a table top 14. The sleeve assembly 10 
includes a tubular plastic sleeve 16 to which is strapped a plurality of 
cylindrical bamboo rods 20, such as by rawhide strips 22. These strips are 
applied while wet, with ends typically fastened together such as with 
staples, and allowed to dry to form in effect, a shrink wrap. 
The sleeve 16 is a hollow tube having a central bore 17 with an open upper 
end 18. There is attached to sleeve 16 a support plate 26 for the bamboo 
members at one end secured by a glue or other adhesive 28. With the bamboo 
members 20 strapped to the sleeve 16, the sleeve assembly can be easily 
placed around the leg 12 such as by sliding the open end 18 over the leg 
until the ends of the bamboo members 20 and sleeve 16 abut against the 
stop cap 24 on the leg 12. A weldment 44 provides connection between the 
cap 24 and the leg 12. With the sleeve in this position, a screw or other 
fastener 30 is passed through the bottom support plate 26 and threaded 
into the leg 12 (which is preferably previously tap threaded). 
Referring to FIG. 4, a friction fit is provided between the metal 
rectangular leg 12 and the sleeve 16. This is effected at the corners of 
the leg 12 engaging the sleeve 16 such as indicated by the numeral 19. 
This inhibits rotation of the leg around the sleeve, while still 
permitting the leg to easily be inserted in the tube. 
A second embodiment of the sleeve is shown generally in FIGS. 5-7 by the 
numeral 10A. Similar numbers are used to describe similar components, 
except they are utilized with an "A" suffix. Embodiment 10A differs from 
10 in that it is applied over a hollow steel leg 12A which is round. In 
this instance, a spacer element 42A is utilized and is secured to the 
inside of the sleeve 16A such as by the adhesive 28A. This affords a 
sliding guide means when the sleeve 16A is subsequently attached to the 
leg so that the leg can be inserted without binding, rotational stability 
when sleeve 16A is attached, and permits the use of various sizes of 
sleeves. 
Another difference is at the opposite end of the leg 12A and the attachment 
of sleeve 16A such as by the screw 30A. In this instance due to the hollow 
construction of the leg 12A, a platform 40A is provided to which is 
secured a threaded nut 47A. It is connected to the platform 40A by the 
weldment 44A which also is the preferred manner of securing the platform 
40A to the leg 12A. It should be noted that due to the square 
configuration of the table leg 46A and the round configuration of the leg 
12A, a multi-piece table leg in effect is provided which is square in one 
portion of its cross section and round in another. 
As illustrated in FIG. 5, end cap 24A is attached to the table base 46A by 
the weldment 44A, as well as to the leg 12A. Only sleeve 16A abuts cap 24A 
in this instance. 
It is thus seen that there is provided a sleeve assembly which can be 
preassembled with decorative members such as lengths of bamboo for later 
attachment to a furniture leg. A support for the decorative members is 
provided, as well as a secure fastening at both ends of the decorative 
members. The sleeve assembly can be made to accommodate a wide variety of 
geometric configurations for table legs. 
The method of the invention involves placing the bamboo 20 around tube 16 
to surround it, shrink wrapping the bamboo to the tube by tying wet (with 
water) rawhide strips 22 around the bamboo, providing a support 26 for the 
bamboo at the bottom of the tube, inserting the leg 12 into the tube 16, 
and fastening the sleeve to the leg bottom. 
While preferred embodiments have been described above, it should be readily 
apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that a number of 
modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit or 
scope of the invention. For example, while round and square table legs 
have been shown for use in conjunction with the sleeve assemblies, other 
geometric configurations could be utilized such as rectangular or 
octagonal. Also, while a single spacer element has been employed in 
conjunction with sleeve 16A, a multiplicity of spacers could be provided. 
However, this would add to the cost. Neither is it necessary that the 
spacers be round at the center. For example, a spacer can be employed for 
a square leg where the center portion is square and the outside round. In 
addition, other fastener devices and methods could be employed other than 
screws 30 and 30A such as a friction fit or adhesives. Also, the specific 
materials mentioned are not the only materials which can be used. All such 
and other modifications covered by the claims are within the spirit of the 
invention and are intended to be within the scope thereof.