Foldable picnic table

A foldable picnic table is provided having two, similar, table top portions hinged together for folding into a position in which their undersides face each other and are parallel and spaced apart. The table has legs which fold into the space between the folded top portions. The undersides of the top portions are provided with retaining means such as clips which hold various items in place, particularly a metal grill used for cooking. Other items may be stored between the undersurfaces of the table top portions, when folded. The retaining means for the grill may be partly carried by a member foldable with the legs, so that this folds onto the grill and holds this firmly in place when the table is folded.

The present invention relates to picnic tables. 
The invention provides a combined foldable picnic table, and metal grill 
useful on open picnic fires. The picnic table comprises two similar table 
top portions hinged together for movement from a co-planar relationship in 
which they provide the normal table top, to a folded relationship in which 
the undersides of the portions lie substantially parallel and spaced apart 
to provide a storage space. The portions each have two legs hingedly 
attached thereto so as to be foldable against the undersides of the 
portions and so as to fit within the space between these portions when 
folded. A picnic device such as a metal grill or flat board is releasably 
held by retaining means on the underside of the first of the table top 
portions and is capable of fitting within the storage space when the table 
is folded. 
Preferably, each portion has two legs connected by a connecting member 
which is itself hingedly connected to the respective portion, and the 
retaining means include elements fixed to the connecting member and 
movable therewith to hold the picnic device between the elements and the 
underside of the table top portion when the connecting member is in its 
folded position.

The picnic table comprises first and second table top portions 10a and 10b, 
each forming one half of the table top, and hinged together by a long 
piano type hinge 12. Each table top portion comprises a rectangular, flat 
board which is surrounded on all its four sides by a raised edging or 
flange 13 which extends downwardly from the underside of the board (and 
upwardly as seen in FIG. 2). The hinge 12 has its plates connected to the 
lower side of the adjacent flanges 13 of the two table top portions. With 
this arrangement, the two portions can be folded together with normally 
lower sides facing each other but separated by an amount equivalent to 
twice the height of the flanges 13, thus forming a space for purposes 
which will be described. In the folded position, hooks 14 of the portion 
10b can be engaged with eyes 15 of the portion 10a, and the whole table 
can be carried by a handle 16. In the unfolded position, bars 17 inserted 
through adjoining flanges 13 hold the portions co-planar to provide a 
normal flat table top as indicated in FIG. 1. Bars 17 are provided with 
retaining chains 17a, and clips 17b to hold these bars when not in use. 
Close to each outer edge of the first and second table top portions 10a and 
10b is a further long hinge 20 (seen in lower part of FIG. 2), onto which 
is connected a leg portion indicated generally at 22. The leg portion 
includes a connecting member 22a extending along the large part of the 
length of each portion 10a, 10b, and having attached to each end one of 
the table legs 24. The legs 24, which are shown folded against the portion 
10a and unfolded relative to portion 10b, are held in the unfolded 
position by the folding brackets 26, which retain the legs normally 
perpendicular to the table top portions. 
Each leg 24 is telescopic, and includes two side members 28 which are 
attached to the member 22a, and a central member 29 which has a tongue and 
groove engagement with the side members 28 and which can be slid outwardly 
relative to the side members when the leg is unfolded, screw clamps 30 
being provided to hold the central member 29 in its extended position. 
It will be seen from FIG. 2 that with both of the leg portions 22 folded, 
there is provided a storage space surrounded by the legs 24 and the 
connecting members 22a, which is completely enclosed when the two table 
top portions are folded together as indicated in FIG. 3, The leg portions 
22 are dimensioned so that when folded as shown in the upper part of FIG. 
2 they do not project beyond the outer boundary of the flanges 13. 
The storage space provided when the table is folded accommodates a metal 
grill 32, a cutting board 34, and a utensil box 36. The metal grill 32 is 
a foldable grill formed by parallel metal bars and connecting bars, and in 
the folded position as shown in FIG. 2 the dimensions of this grill are 11 
inches by 15 inches. This grill unfolds to twice this size for normal use. 
The utility board 34 is a conventional wooden cutting board, having the 
same dimensions as the folded grill. 
The grill and board are retained in position against the respective 
undersides of the two board portions by clips. Clips 42 are provided for 
holding the grate onto the portion 10a, there being two clips associated 
with the area of the board near to the main hinge 12, and two further 
clips associated with the inner edge of the member 22a attached to the 
portion 10a. With this arrangement, the clips attached to member 22a are 
brought to bear firmly on the grill 32 when the legs 24 are moved to the 
folded position, thus firmly holding the grill in place during transport. 
It may be noted that the firm action of the clips attached to member 22a 
does not depend merely on a spring clip action. 
The utility board 34 is similarly held by two clips 44 attached to the 
board portion 10b adjacent the main hinge 12, and two further clips 44 
spaced along the inner side of the connecting leg member 22a. 
While all the clips may be made of spring metal, it will be observed that 
those which are attached to the leg connecting members 22a do not need to 
be spring clips since they come into action when the legs are folded. 
The utensil box 36, which is used for small utensils such as knives and 
forks, is a rectangular box with flat bottom and open top, and with a 
central divider. This is dimensioned to fit snugly in the space indicated, 
and between the table top portions when folded, and does not require any 
clips. The fit is snug enough to prevent utensils falling from the box. 
It is to be noted that other arrangements of foldable legs might be used in 
accordance with this invention. For example, a leg arrangement might be 
used in which the legs, when folded, extend parallel to the central hinge 
12. Also, telescopic legs are not essential, since a low table may be 
preferred.