Furniture assembly

A furniture assembly, such as a knock-down work station, desk or table, which may be easily assembled without the use of tools. The furniture assembly comprises a table top, a pair of I-shaped leg members, and a modesty panel which are interfitted and attached together to form a rigid furniture unit. The table top has secured thereto a pair of elongated metal channel-shaped members depending from the bottom surface of the table-top and having a plurality of slots therein into which are inserted tabs secured to the leg members for suspending said leg members from said table top. The panel is formed with side and end panels which abut opposing surfaces of the leg members when the panel is assembled, to hold said leg members from movement. Assembly is completed by insertion of snap fastening elements into registering apertures in the leg members and panel flanges.

The present invention relates generally to knock-down furniture which is 
supplied to the user in disassembled form, and in particular relates to a 
knock-down unit of office desk or work station which is capable of being 
assembled by the user without tools of any kind. 
A significant cost element in the distribution of conventional furniture 
products resides in the expenses associated with the shipment and storage 
of the furniture. These costs assume significant proportions as a result 
of the relatively large bulk, or overall volume of most furniture 
products, which require large warehouse and stock room space, and which 
are difficult to transport. To overcome these problems, furniture is often 
distributed and supplied in knock-down form with the parts thereof 
disassembled and packed in a relatively small and compact package. The 
purchaser must then assemble the parts into the finished furniture unit. 
Although knock-down furniture products are considerably less expensive than 
assembled furniture, the popularity of knockdown products has suffered 
because of the difficulty and inconvenience encountered by the purchaser 
in assembling the unit. Most knock-down products include screws, nuts and 
bolts or similar metal fasteners which require the use of tools such as 
screwdrivers, pliers, socket wrenches or the like for assembly. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a knock-down furniture 
assembly which can be shipped and stored in a disassembled state with a 
minimum bulk and which can be assembled rapidly without the use of special 
tools. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture assembly which 
can be easily assembled, and when assembled form an exceptionally sturdy 
article of furniture such as a desk or work station. 
Another object of the invention is the provision of a furniture assembly 
composed of relatively few simple parts, several of which may be identical 
and interchangeable, so that the assembly is unusually economical in 
manufacture. 
A further object of the invention is the provision of a furniture assembly 
of the character described in which the component parts thereof are 
quickly and easily assembled by interfitting the parts, and in which the 
components are then locked together by insertion of snap-in fasteners to 
provide a rigid assembled article of furniture. 
In accordance with the invention herein, the knock-down furniture assembly 
comprises a table top having a flat bottom surface to which a plurality of 
elongated leg support members are secured in parallel spaced relationship 
to each other, each of the leg support members having a plurality of 
spaced slots formed on one side thereof. The assembly also includes a 
plurality of leg members, each comprising an upright portion and an 
elongated or extended portion formed rigidly with the upright portion and 
extending perpendicularly thereto at the upper end thereof, said elongated 
portions having a plurality of tabs secured thereto and sized and 
positioned to fit within the slots of one of said leg support members. The 
assembly further includes a panel adapted to be mounted between said leg 
members in an upstanding position beneath said table top and perpendicular 
thereto, the panel having flange portions positioned to abut the upright 
portions of the respective leg members, and snap-fitting attachment 
elements for connecting the flange portions to said leg members. 
In assembling the knock-down furniture assembly, the leg members are placed 
in upstanding position beneath the horizontally-disposed table top, with 
the elongated portions of the leg members underlying and supporting the 
table top, and the tabs of said elongated portions are inserted into the 
slots of the respective leg-support members. The panel is then placed 
beneath the table top with its flange portions abutting the upright 
portions of the leg members, and the snap-fitting attachment elements are 
inserted through apertures in said flange portions to connect said legs 
rigidly to said panel and to said table top.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is 
shown an article of furniture 10 formed by the components of the 
knock-down furniture assembly of the present invention. The article of 
furniture 10 is illustrated as an item of office furniture, and 
particularly as a desk, work station or table. The article 10 comprises a 
table-top 12, a pair of leg members 14 and 16, and a modesty panel 18. 
The table top 12 is of conventional type being made of wood, metal or 
composition material, and has flat top and bottom surfaces. Secured to the 
bottom surface of the table top 12 are a pair of elongated leg-support 
members 20 and 22, each sized to extend the width of the table-top 12, as 
shown in FIG. 2. 
Each leg-support member 20 and 22 is formed a plate of metal bent into the 
channeled hat shape shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and comprising a pair of end 
flanges 24 and 26, a pair of integral side walls 28 and 30 depending 
perpendicularly from the inner ends of said flanges 24 and 26, and a 
bottom wall 32 extending between and connecting said side walls 28 and 30. 
The leg-support members 20 and 22 are mounted on the table-top 12 at each 
end portion thereof with the flanges 24 and 26 resting flush upon the 
under surface of the table-top. The leg-support members are secured to the 
table-top by screws 34 (FIG. 3) or other suitable means of attachment, and 
this connection is factory-made so that the table-top 12 is supplied to 
the user with the leg-support members 20 and 22 permanently secured 
thereto. 
The side wall 30 of each leg-support member 20 and 22 is formed with a pair 
of spaced elongated slots 36 which serve to mount the leg members 14, 16 
in a manner to be presently described. When the leg-support members are 
secured to the table top 12, they are oriented so that their side walls 
30, containing the slots 36, are facing toward the center of the 
table-top. 
Each leg member 14 and 16 has an I-shaped metal body comprising an upright 
leg portion 38 terminating at its bottom end in an integral base portion 
40 which extends perpendicularly thereto. At its upper end, the leg 
portion 38 terminates in an integral table-support portion 42 which 
extends perpendicularly to said leg portion. The leg portion 38, base 
portion 40, and table-support portion 42 are each in the form of an 
elongated metal bar of rectangular cross-section, which may be hollow, as 
shown in FIG. 3. 
Each table-support portion 42 has secured thereto a pair of L-shaped metal 
brackets 44. Each of the brackets 44 has an arm 46 which is secured to the 
side wall of the table-support portion 42, and a tab or arm 48 which 
overlies the top wall of the table-support portion and is parallel to and 
spaced therefrom. The brackets 44 are spaced apart the same distance as 
the slots 36 in the leg-support members 20 and 22, and the tabs 48 are 
sized to fit within said slots 36 when the components are assembled, in a 
manner to be presently described. 
The panel 18 has a flat body portion 50 made of metal and bent at each end 
to form a pair of perpendicular end flanges 52 and 54, as shown in FIG. 2. 
The upper end of the body portion 50 is bent into the form a U-shaped 
channel 56, while the lower end is also bent to form a U-shaped channel 
58. The upper channel extends longitudinally along the upper edge of panel 
18 and terminates at each end short of the end flanges 52,54. The upper 
edge of each flange 52,54 terminates below the upper U-shaped channel 56, 
as shown in FIG. 2, to form a corner notch 60 sized to receive and seat 
the table-support portion 42 of leg members 14,16 when the work station is 
assembled. The lower edge of each flange 52,54 is spaced from the end of 
the lower U-shaped channel 58, providing a space 62 therebetween for 
receiving therein a leg portion 38 when the work station is assembled. 
Each panel end flange 52 and 54 is provided with a pair of spaced apertures 
64 which are positioned to register with a pair of spaced apertures 66 in 
the leg portion 38 of each leg member 14 and 16 when the components are 
assembled. Snap fasteners 68 are provided for insertion through the 
registering apertures 64 and 66, whereby to secure the panel 18 to the leg 
members, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each snap fastener element 68 is in 
the form of a pop-in plug of the usual commercial type which has an 
expanded partially-split shank sized to be slid through the aligned 
apertures 64 and 66, with the expanded shank being compressed during 
insertion and thereafter spreading to lock the fastener element 68 within 
the apertures 64,66. 
In assembling the desk or work station 10, the leg members 14 and 16 are 
brought beneath the horizontally-disposed table top 12, and the tabs 48 of 
the L-shaped brackets 44 mounted on leg members 14,16 are inserted into 
the elongated slots 36 of the respective leg-support members 20 and 22 
mounted on the under surface of the table top 12. The L-shaped brackets 44 
are so sized and positioned, that in the inserted positions of the tabs 48 
within the slots 36, the bottom walls 32 of the leg-support members 20 and 
22 rest flush upon the upper surfaces of the table support portions 42 of 
the respective leg members 14 and 16, as shown in FIG. 3. The inserted 
tabs 48 hold the leg members 14 and 16 against vertical movement away from 
the table top 12. 
The modesty panel 18 is then assembled by bringing it beneath the rear end 
of the table top 12 with the table support portions 42 of the upstanding 
leg members 14,16 received in the corner notches 60, and the panel is then 
slid forwardly until the upright leg portions 38 of the leg members enter 
the spaces 62 and are snugly received therein. In this position, the 
apertures 64 in the panel flanges 52 are aligned with the apertures 66 in 
the leg portions 38. As shown in FIG. 3, in this assembled condition, the 
end edges of the upper U-shaped channels 56 abut the inner surface of the 
leg member table support portions 42 and the end edges of the lower 
U-shaped channels 58 abut the inner surfaces of the leg portions 38, 
thereby restraining the leg members 14 and 16 from inward movement toward 
the center of the table top 12. At the same time, the panel end flanges 52 
and 54 overlie and abut the outer surfaces of the leg portions 38 of the 
respective legs 16 and 14, thereby restraining the leg members from 
outward movement relative to the table top. 
A fastener member 68 is then snap-fitted into each of the aligned pairs of 
apertures 64 and 66 to lock the modesty panel to the leg members 14 and 
16, thereby completing the assembly of the article of furniture as a rigid 
final product. The L-shaped brackets 44 secure the table-top 12 to the leg 
members 14 and 16, and the modesty panel 18 rigidifies the structure and 
secures the leg members rigidly in their spaced relationship against any 
undesirable movement. 
It will thus be seen that the components of the knock-down furniture 
assembly may be stored and shipped in flat, compact form, and that the 
user may quickly and easily assemble the components without the use of 
tools, by merely slip-fitting the leg members in position beneath the 
table top, and snap-fitting the fastener members within the aligned 
apertures. 
The article of furniture 10 shown in FIG. 1 may serve as a work station, 
desk or table, and may be provided with drawers, cabinet compartments or 
the like suspended from the table top. 
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described 
herein, it is obvious that numerous additions, changes and omissions may 
be made in such embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of 
the invention.