Furniture tipping restraint

A furniture tipping restraint for use in helping to prevent furniture such as chests of drawers, bookcase shelves, television carts, etc., from tipping over and away from a building wall. The furniture tipping restraint includes a first anchor which is attached to the wall whereagainst the furniture is located and a second anchor which is attached to the back wall of the furniture. A restraint strap extends through holes in both of the anchors and includes a clamping aperture at one end thereof for receiving the other end of the restraint strap for forming a loop and thereby tying together the anchors and effectively restraining the furniture from tipping away from the wall. In another embodiment, a restraint strap includes a securement portion for attachment directly to either a wall or the furniture. An attachment clamp also includes a securement portion and is attached directly to either the wall or the furniture. The restraint strap is selectively detachably attachable to the attachment clamp for thereby restraining the furniture from tipping away from the wall.

TECHNICAL FIELD
 In general, the present invention relates to the technical field of devices
 for preventing the inadvertent tipping of furniture. More particularly,
 the present invention relates to devices wherethrough furniture which is
 placed generally against a wall is prevented from tipping away therefrom.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 Furniture such as chests of drawers, bookcases, television carts, etc.,
 have been very widely commonly used in homes for their intended purposes.
 Unfortunately, pursuant to reports by the United States Consumer Products
 Safety Commission, thousands of injuries and several deaths have occurred
 to children as a result of such furniture being tipped over. It is
 reported that most of these injuries involved furniture with drawers such
 as dressers and chests of drawers and, further, that most of these
 injuries occurred to children under the age of 5. It is believed that
 young children try to pull themselves up or climb the chests of drawers or
 bookcases thereby causing them to tip over.
 As a result of these reports and current awareness of the problem, some
 furniture manufacturers have been asked to modify the design of their
 furniture so as to hopefully prevent or decrease the possibility that the
 furniture could be tipped over. As can be appreciated, however, furniture
 such as chests of drawers, television carts and bookcase shelves have been
 standardized for many years and modifications, for example, to the
 dimensions of such furniture for preventing inadvertent tipping, in
 general, makes such furniture unusable or cumbersome for their intended
 purpose and are essentially unacceptable to typical consumers. As a
 result, it is recommended and most preferable that such furniture be
 placed as far back as possible against a wall and that braces or anchors
 be used to secure the furniture to the floor or wall. Although such
 furniture anchors and/or braces can be effective in preventing the
 furniture from tipping over, they must not be cumbersome, difficult to
 install, or expensive, so that they will readily and widely be used by
 most consumers.
 Accordingly, a need exists for a furniture tipping restraint which can
 easily be installed, which would not detract from the appearance of the
 furniture, is generally inexpensive, and which is effective in helping to
 prevent furniture from inadvertently being tipped over and potentially
 causing injury.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the
 above-discussed problems associated with furniture inadvertently being
 tipped over and to provide a furniture tipping restraint which meets the
 above-discussed needs.
 The present invention overcomes such problems by providing a furniture
 tipping restraint which is adapted to be attached between the back wall of
 a piece of furniture and the house wall whereagainst the furniture is
 located such that the furniture is restrained from easily being tipped
 over away from the wall. The furniture tipping restraint includes a first
 anchor which is attachable to a house wall adjacent the location whereat
 the piece of furniture is to be located. The anchor is attached to the
 wall preferably using a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other equivalent
 fastener. A second anchor is provided and is attached to the back wall of
 the piece of furniture with a screw, nail or other suitable fastener.
 Thereafter, after locating the piece of furniture generally against the
 house wall and in close proximity where it will ultimately be located,
 thereby also placing the first and second anchors generally close to one
 another, a restraint strap is extended between the first and second
 anchors and is attached thereto thereby essentially restraining or
 flexibly attaching the piece of furniture to the house wall. The restraint
 strap is generally elongate and flexible for allowing the final
 positioning of the piece of furniture as may be desired. The restraint
 strap is minimized in its length so that, in the event the piece of
 furniture is inadvertently caused to start tipping, it will provide a
 force backwardly toward the wall. Because the restraint strap is
 maintained at a minimum length, the required force backwardly toward the
 wall to prevent tipping is minimized since it is applied to the furniture
 before the center of gravity of the furniture reaches the plane after
 which the furniture will continue tipping or fall over. This required
 force is further minimized by locating the furniture tipping restraint on
 the furniture back wall vertically as high as possible.
 Preferably, the restraint strap is made of flexible nylon or plastic and is
 adapted to extend through holes in the first and the second anchors. The
 restraint strap includes a loop clamp whereby, after it is extended
 through the anchor holes, a first end of the restraint strap is attached
 to the other end or portion of the restraint strap thereby forming a loop
 tying together the first and second anchors. The second end of the
 restraint strap is detachably attachable by the loop clamp so that, if one
 desires to move the furniture, the restraint strap is merely removed from
 the anchors thereby freeing the piece of furniture for moving as may be
 desired. The loop clamp is preferably attachable substantially along any
 portion of the restraint strap so that the loop length can be varied and
 minimized. More preferably, the loop clamp includes an aperture
 wherethrough the second end of the restraint strap is received and pulled
 through for minimizing the overall loop length. Yet more preferably, the
 clamping aperture is keyhole shaped having a keyhole slot and the
 restraint strap second end includes a plurality of beads located in
 staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap such that,
 upon threading the restraint strap second end through the keyhole shaped
 aperture and reaching the desired loop length, the restraint strap is
 forced into engagement within the keyhole slot so as to be frictionally
 engaged therein and such that the beads of the restraint strap essentially
 positively lock the restraint strap in the keyhole slot. For releasing and
 removing the restraint strap, the restraint strap second end is merely
 pushed out of the keyhole slot and the strap second end is pulled out of
 the keyhole shaped aperture thus disrupting the loop and allowing the
 removal of the restraint strap from the anchors.
 In a second embodiment, the restraint strap is provided with a securement
 portion whereby the restraint strap is directly attachable to a wall or a
 piece of furniture. The securement portion includes a hole for receiving a
 fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other suitable fastener.
 An attachment clamp is provided and also has a securement portion for
 selectively attaching the attachment clamp directly to a wall or piece of
 furniture. Similarly, the securement portion of the attachment clamp
 includes a hole for receiving a fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor,
 nail or other suitable fastener for thereby attaching the attachment clamp
 to either a wall or piece of furniture. The restraint strap is selectively
 attachable to the attachment clamp for thereby essentially attaching the
 piece of furniture to the wall and restraining it from tipping over and
 away from the wall. Preferably, the attachment clamp includes an aperture
 wherethrough the restraint strap is received and is selectively
 frictionally engaged for detachably attaching the restraint strap to the
 attachment clamp. Thus, unlike the first embodiment, in this embodiment a
 loop is not created by the restraint strap but, rather, the restraint
 strap is merely directly selectively attached to the attachment clamp.
 More preferably, the attachment clamp aperture is keyhole shaped with a
 keyhole slot and the restraint strap includes a plurality of beads located
 in a staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap.
 In operation, after, for example, the restraint strap is attached to the
 house wall and the attachment clamp is attached to the back wall of a
 piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers and the chest of drawers is
 pushed in close proximity to the house wall placing the restraint strap
 generally close to the attachment clamp, the restraint strap end is
 threaded through the attachment clamp keyhole shaped aperture for
 minimizing the length thereof to the attachment clamp and, thereafter, the
 restraint strap is pushed into and is frictionally engaged in the keyhole
 slot thereby attaching and locking the restraint strap to the attachment
 clamp. For moving the furniture, the restraint strap is merely pushed out
 of frictional engagement from within the keyhole slot and the restraint
 strap is pulled out of the attachment clamp aperture, thereby freeing the
 furniture from the house wall and allowing movement thereof as may be
 desired. Preferably, the restraint strap and securement portion thereof
 are made of nylon or plastic and are made by injection molding and are
 integrally formed together. Similarly, the attachment clamp and securement
 portion thereof are also preferably made of plastic or nylon and are made
 by injection molding and are integrally formed together.
 In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to a furniture
 tipping restraint including a first anchor attachable to a wall and a
 second anchor attachable to a piece of furniture. A restraint strap is
 provided and is selectively extendable between the first and second
 anchors and is attachable thereto whereby the piece of furniture is
 restrained from tipping away from the wall.
 In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to a furniture
 tipping restraint including a restraint strap having a. securement portion
 which is selectively attachable to a wall or piece of furniture. An
 attachment clamp having a securement portion is also provided and is
 selectively attachable to a wall or piece of furniture. The restraint
 strap is selectively attachable to the attachment clamp whereby the piece
 of furniture is restrained from tipping away from the wall.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout
 the several views of the drawings.
 The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the
 invention in one form thereof and such exemplifications are not to be
 construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure or the scope of the
 invention in any manner.
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 Referring initially to FIG. 1, a piece of furniture in the form of chest of
 drawers, generally designated by the numeral 10, is shown adjacent a house
 wall 12 and on a floor 14. The chest of drawers 10, includes a plurality
 of drawers 16, front legs 18, back legs 20, a back wall 22, top 24 and
 sides 26. As is most common, the chest of drawers 10 is located and placed
 adjacent a house wall 12 with the chest of drawers back wall 22 generally
 adjacent or against the drywall or lath 28 which is supported by wood
 studs 30. It is noted that the chest of drawers 10 is depicted herein
 merely as an exemplary piece of furniture upon which the furniture tipping
 restraint generally designated by the numeral 32 may be used and that
 restraint 32 can be used on any piece of furniture which can be located
 adjacent a house wall 12. Additionally, house wall 12 made of drywall or
 lath 28 and wood studs 30 is also merely exemplary and it should be noted
 that the furniture tipping restraint 32 can be used with any type of wall
 construction including, for example, concrete blocks, solid wood, etc.
 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the furniture tipping restraint 32 is attached
 to and between the chest of drawers back wall 22 and the house wall 12. In
 this fashion, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, if the top drawer 16 is
 pulled out and a force F is applied downwardly thereon such as that which
 may be applied by a small child hanging thereon, if the chest of drawers
 10 starts to tip over by pivoting about the front legs 18, the furniture
 tipping restraint 32 effectively holds back the chest of drawers 10 close
 to the house wall 12 thereby preventing the chest of drawers 10 from
 completely tipping over onto the floor 14. The furniture tipping restraint
 32 essentially provides an opposing force as indicated by arrow F' to
 restrain the chest of drawers 10 from tipping away from the wall 12. The
 length of the furniture tipping restraint 32 is minimized and made as
 short as possible so that the restraining force F' is applied to the chest
 of drawers 10 as soon as possible after it starts to tip so as to prevent
 the center of gravity diagrammatically depicted by arrow C from moving
 away from the house wall 12 and beyond the chest front legs 18. In this
 manner, the restraining force F' required to prevent tipping is maintained
 at a minimum for effectively preventing the chest of drawers 10 from
 tipping over and away from the wall 12.
 Referring now to FIG. 3, a furniture tipping restraint 32 is shown
 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and
 attached to and between a wall 12 and piece of furniture such as a chest
 of drawers 10. The furniture tipping restraint 32 includes a first anchor
 or bracket 34 having a toe portion 36 and ear portion 38. Preferably,
 first anchor 34 is made of steel by a stamping process and with the ear
 portion 38 being bent at an angle from the toe portion 36 as shown. A hole
 40 is provided in the toe portion 36 for receiving a screw 42 therethrough
 and mounting the anchor 34 to the wall 12. Preferably, screw 42 is
 sufficiently long and is located for attachment to a wood stud 30. In the
 alternative, a drywall or concrete anchor (not shown) can be used in
 conjunction with screw 42 for attaching the anchor 34 to the wall 12. The
 ear portion 38 is also provided with a hole 44 having any desired shape
 such as elongate as shown or circular. Hole 44, as more fully discussed
 hereinbelow, is adapted to receive therethrough the restraint strap 46.
 The furniture tipping restraint 32 also includes a second anchor or bracket
 48 which is essentially identical to the first anchor 34. The second
 anchor 48, however, is attached via the screw 42 to the back wall 22 of a
 piece of furniture as best seen in FIG. 3.
 The restraint strap 46 shown in FIG. 3 can be similar to commonly available
 wire ties having a first end 50 and a second end 52. The restraint strap
 46 is preferably made of flexible plastic or nylon by an injection molding
 process. At the second end 52, a loop clamp 54 is provided and is
 integrally formed therewith. Loop clamp 54 includes a clamping aperture 56
 wherethrough the first end 50 of the restraint strap 46 is received and
 retained so as to form a loop as shown. The loop clamp 54 and clamping
 aperture 56 thus operate to selectively attach and lock in place a portion
 of the restraint strap so as to form a loop of a desired length. The loop
 clamp 54 can be of a type which attaches to the restraint strap without
 allowing detachment or can be of a type which detachably attaches to any
 portion of the restraint strap 46 for allowing the user to selectively
 also remove the restraint strap second end from the clamping aperture 56
 and opening the loop without having to break the restraint strap 46.
 In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a restraint strap 58 is show
 which is preferably also made of flexible plastic or nylon by an injection
 molding process. The restraint strap 58 includes a loop clamp 60 having a
 keyhole shaped clamping aperture 62 including a keyhole slot 64. Similar
 to restraint strap 46, the loop clamp 60 is located at the second end 66
 of the restraint strap, whereas the first end 68 is flexible and is
 selectively inserted through the loop clamp aperture 62. However, the
 first end 68 of the restraint strap 58 is formed with a plurality of beads
 or spheres 70 which are located in staggered relation longitudinally along
 the restraint strap intermediate rod shaped sections 72. It is noted that
 the sphere shaped or bead portions 70 and the rod sections 72 are
 injection molded and integrally formed together as shown.
 In use, the restraint strap 58 is used quite similar to the restraint strap
 46. After the anchors 34 and 38 are attached to the wall 12 and the back
 wall 22 of the piece of furniture is placed close to the back wall 12
 placing the anchors 34 and 48 relatively close to one another, the
 restraint strap first end 68 is threaded through the holes 44 of both
 anchors 34 and 48 and the first end 68 is threaded through the keyhole
 shaped clamping aperture 62 so as to form a loop. After minimizing the
 overall length of the loop, the restraint strap first end is forced from
 the clamping aperture 62 toward the keyhole slot 64 thereby forcing a rod
 shaped section 72 to enter into and become frictionally engaged within the
 keyhole slot 64. In this regard, it is noted that the width of the keyhole
 slot 64 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the rod shaped sections
 72 for providing a positive frictional engagement. Additionally, because
 the beads 70 are located on both sides of the rod shaped section 72, the
 first end 68 is positively locked in position generally without
 possibility that the restraint strap can be pulled out of the keyhole slot
 unless it is again pushed out therefrom and into the clamping apertures
 62.
 Referring now to FIGS. 5-9, a second embodiment of a furniture tipping
 restraint generally designated by the numeral 74 is shown. Furniture
 tipping restraint 74 achieves the same result as the furniture tipping
 restraint 32 of preventing a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers
 10 from tipping over and away from a wall 12. Furniture tipping restraint
 74 includes a restraint strap 76 shaped quite similar to the first end 68
 of restraint strap 58 and, in this regard, the same numerals 68, 70 and 72
 are used to designate the restraint strap first end 68, beads or spheres
 70 and the rod shaped sections 72. At its second end 78, however,
 restraint strap 76 is provided with a securement portion 80 for
 selectively attaching the restraint strap 76 to either the wall 12 or a
 piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers 10. Preferably, the
 securement portion 80 includes a frusto-conical shaped hole 82 for
 receiving a screw or other fastener therethrough and attaching to a wall
 or piece of furniture in a manner as described hereinabove with respect to
 anchors 34 and 48. The securement portion 80 is preferably also made of
 plastic or nylon and is injection molded along with the first end 68 and
 is, thus, integrally formed therewith.
 The furniture tipping restraint 74 further includes an attachment clamp 84
 having a securement portion 86 attached thereto via a neck section 88.
 Attachment clamp 84 is quite similar to the attachment or loop clamp 60 of
 FIG. 4 and has a correspondingly similar keyhole shaped clamping aperture
 62 and keyhole slot 64. Additionally, the securement portion 86 is
 generally similar to the securement portion 80 and includes a
 frusto-conical hole 82 therethrough for receiving a screw 42 or other
 fastener for attaching to either the wall 12 or a piece of furniture such
 as chest of drawers 10. Preferably, the attachment clamp 84, neck portion
 88, and securement portion 86 are made of plastic or nylon and are
 integrally formed and made by injection molding.
 In operation, the furniture tipping restraint 74 is used by attaching the
 restraint strap 76 using the securement portion 80 thereof to the wall 12
 or chest of drawers 10. The attachment clamp 84 is then secured using the
 securement portion 84 thereof to the chest of drawers 10 or wall 12. The
 chest of drawers 10 is then brought in close proximity to the wall 12
 placing the attachment clamp 84 close to the restraint strap 76. The
 restraint strap 76 is then threaded through the clamping aperture 62
 minimizing the length thereof and the restraint strap 76 is pushed into
 the keyhole slot 64 for causing one of the rod shaped sections 72 to be
 frictionally engaged within the keyhole slot 64 with beads 70 adjacent
 thereto located on either side of the attachment clamp 84. In this
 fashion, the restraint strap 76 is generally positively locked in the
 position as shown in FIG. 5 for thereby also preventing the chest of
 drawers 10 or other piece of furniture from being tipped over and away
 from the wall 12. When desired, the restraint strap 76 can be merely
 pushed out of the keyhole slot 64 and into the clamping aperture 62 for
 threading out and removing the restraint strap 76 from the attachment
 clamp 84 thereby freeing the piece of furniture 10 for moving away from
 the wall 12 as may be desired.
 While the invention has been described as having specific embodiments, it
 will be understood that it is capable of further modifications. This
 application is, therefore, intended to cover any variations, uses, or
 adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and
 including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known
 or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and fall
 within the limits of the appended claims.