Collapsible table structure with interconnected bench seats

A collapsible table structure with interconnected bench seats comprises a top assembly that includes a table top and cross braces thereunder having slideways; a seat assembly that includes two beam members and two bench seats, the beam members being located under the cross braces of the top assembly and including retainer notches therein; and two leg assemblies that are associated with opposite sides of the table top, each leg assembly including two leg members, each leg member having an upper mounting bolt which extends through a corresponding slideway and a lower mounting bolt which extends through the associated beam member, as well as a pivotable support arm which has a free end that is positionable in a corresponding retainer notch in the associated beam member when the table structure is set up for use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to table structures which have bench seats 
interconnected thereto. 
Table structures which include interconnected bench seats are relatively 
common items of furniture. When built for outdoor use, they are commonly 
called picnic tables. However, because these table structures are 
generally quite large in size, they must usually be disassembled for 
long-term storage. Unfortunately, the breakdown of such a table structure 
can be very time consuming and difficult, and once disassembled the bolts 
that are used to interconnect the various elements of the table structures 
thereof can be easily misplaced. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a table structure 
having interconnected bench seats that can be easily set up for use and 
easily collapsed into a compact unit for storage. 
According to the present invention, the table structure with interconnected 
bench seats includes a top assembly which includes a table top and cross 
braces thereunder, the cross braces including slideways therein; a seat 
assembly located beneath the top assembly, the seat assembly including 
beam members and bench seats connected between the opposite ends of the 
beam members; and two leg assemblies, each leg assembly including two leg 
members which each include an upper mounting bolt at its upper end that 
can slide within a slideway of the associated cross brace and a lower 
support bolt that is connected to the associated beam member. Each leg 
member also includes a support arm pivotally connected thereto between its 
upper mounting bolt and its lower mounting bolt, the free end of the 
support arm being positionable in a retainer means in the associated beam 
member. When set up for use, the top assembly can be moved away from the 
seat assembly and the leg assemblies suitably pivoted with respect to the 
beam members of the seat assembly such that they will become suitably 
oriented to support the top assembly and the seat assembly above the 
ground. The support arms on the leg members are then positioned in the 
retainer means in the beam members to fixedly hold the assemblies with 
respect to one another. When collapsed for storage, the support arms are 
moved away from the retainer means and the leg assemblies are then pivoted 
with respect to the beam members of the seat assembly such that the top 
assembly will be moved toward the seat assembly. Ultimately, the top 
assembly, the seat assembly and the leg assemblies will be repositioned to 
form a compact, generally flat unit. 
The invention will now be better understood by reference to the attached 
drawings, taken in conjunction with the following discussion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inventive table structure with 
interconnected bench seats includes a top assembly 10, a seat assembly 20 
and two leg assemblies 30. When the table structure with interconnected 
bench seats is set up for use, the assemblies will be positioned relative 
to one another as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, whereas when collapsed for 
storage, they will be positioned as indicated in FIG. 3. 
The top assembly 10 generally includes a rectangular table top 11 and two 
identical cross braces 12 and 13 which are located beneath the table top 
11 and extend transversely thereof near its opposite ends. Each cross 
brace is formed of an elongated member 14 which has an upper side that is 
in supporting contact with the table top 11 and a lower side that includes 
two collinear grooves of equal length, the two grooves being separated by 
a stop portion 17. Each cross brace also includes a flat bar 18 which is 
attached to the lower side of the elongated member 14, including top 
portion 17, so as to enclose the lower sides of the grooves, thus 
providing two collinear slideways 15 and 16 in the cross brace. The 
purpose of these two slideways in each cross brace will become apparent 
below. 
The seat assembly 20, which will be generally rectangular in configuration 
when seen from above, includes two identical beam members 21 and 22 which 
extend transversely of the table top 11 and are respectively positioned in 
parallel with and below the associated cross braces 12, 13, and two bench 
seats 23 and 24 which extend longitudinally of the table top 11 and are 
mounted at their opposite ends on the corresponding ends of the beam 
members 21,22. The beam members 21,22 are longer than the cross braces 
12,13, and indeed extend beyond the opposite sides of the table top 11, 
such that the bench seats mounted at their ends are positioned beyond the 
sides of the table top 11, i.e., when viewed from above. Each beam member 
21,22 has an elongated channel 25 extending downwardly therein which has a 
shape and length which corresponds to the shape and length of the 
associated cross brace 12,13 thereabove. In addition, each beam 21,22 
includes a depression 26 extending downwardly therein at about midway 
along its length (located below the stop portion 17 of the associated 
cross brace thereabove) and two retainer notches 27 extending downwardly 
therein on opposite sides of the despression 26 (still within the channel 
25). The purpose of these two retainer notches in each beam member will 
become apparent below. 
The two leg assemblies 30, each of which is associated with a respective 
opposite side of the table top 11, each includes two leg members 31 and 32 
which have upper and lower ends, as well as a connection bar 33 which 
extends between the leg members near their lower ends. The connection bar 
33 is of such a length that the leg members 31,32 are spaced apart a 
distance equal to the spacing between the cross braces 12,13 and the beam 
members 21,22. In addition, each of the leg members 31,32 is composed of 
two elongated, flat plate elements 34 and 35 which are spaced apart a 
distance slightly greater than the widths of either the cross braces 12,13 
or the beam members 21,22. The plate elements 34,35 of each leg member are 
in fact positioned such that the associated cross brace 12,13 and beam 
21,22 extends therebetween. An upper mounting bolt 37 extends through the 
two plate elements of each leg member near its upper end so as to extend 
through the corresponding slideway 15,16 in the associated cross brace 
12,13 and a lower mounting bolt 38 extends through the two plate elements 
of each leg member along its length so as to extend through the associated 
beam member 21,22 at respective points outwardly of the channel 25 
therein. The upper mounting bolts 37 will be slidingly movable along the 
corresponding slideway 15,16 in the associated cross brace 12,13. The leg 
members 31,32 and the beam members 21,22 will be pivotable around the 
lower mounting bolts 38. Each leg member also includes a support arm 39 
which is pivotally connected through the two plate elements thereof at a 
point between the upper and lower mounting bolts 38,37, the support arm 
being of such a length that its free end can be positioned in a 
corresponding retainer notch 27 in the associated beam member 21,22 to 
maintain the orientation of associated leg member with respect to the beam 
member extending therethrough. 
When the collapsible table with interconnected bench seats is set up for 
use, the top assembly 10 is moved away from the seat assembly 20 and the 
leg members of each leg assembly 30 are rotated about the associated beam 
members, i.e., at the lower mounting bolts 37, such that their upper 
mounting bolts 37 will slide along the slideway 15,16 of the cross brace 
12,13 in which it extends, i.e., toward the outer ends thereof. At this 
point the leg members 31 and 32 will be capable of supporting the table 
assembly 10 above the seat assembly 20. Then the free ends of the support 
arms 39 are positioned within their associated retainer notches 27 in the 
beam members 21,22. The table structure with bench seats will, when 
properly positioned on the ground, appear a shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When 
collapsed for storage, the free ends of the support arms 39 are moved out 
of the retainer notches 27 and the leg members 31,32 of each leg assembly 
30 are rotated with respect to the associated beam members, such that 
their upper mounting bolts 38 will slide along the slideways 15,16 of the 
cross braces 12,13 in which they extend, i.e., toward the inner ends 
thereof, such that the table assembly 10 will move toward the seat 
assembly 20. In its final collapsed form, the top assembly 10, the seat 
assembly 20 and the two leg asemblies 30 will be repositioned to form a 
compact, generally flat unit, i.e., as indicated in FIG. 3. 
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, 
it is obvious that variations can be made therein and still fall within 
the scope of the appended claims.