JOINING OF FURNITURE PARTS

Abstract: A concealed fixing for connecting a supporting member (11) to a rail member (14) in abutting relationship which includes locating means (19) on the rail member (14) and clamping means (21) concealed within the supporting member (11) the clamping means (21) being tightened to secure the members (11, 14) together.

Description: JOINING OF FURNITURE PARTS THIS INVENTION relates to improvements in and relating to fdLxings, particularly suitable for the manufacture of furniture but not limited thereto and to articles of furniture utilizing such fixings, £n the -manufacture of furniture it is frequently necessary to provide a demountable fixing or connection between components or to provide a -mechanical fastening between components manufactured from similar or dissimilar materials. In the past many such, fixings have been cumbersome and unattractive in appearance. Additionally many past arrangements have not afforded a sufficiently rigid connection between components parts. De ountability is often required in order to ship furniture in knocked-down condition for maximum utilization of shipping space. In such instances it is desirable to form the joints so that they will not detract from the appearance of the finished product. It is an object of the present invention to provide improved fixings and method of forming same which will alleviate the above and other disadvantages and which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent. With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a concealed fixing suitable for connecting a supporting member to a rail in abutting relationship therewith., said fixing including locating means on said rail and clamping means associated with said supporting member for securing said supporting member to said rail, said clamping means being operatively concealed in said supporting member. Preferably tiiere is formed at the abutment between the supporting member and the rail a pair of spaced apart zones or lines of contact wherein there is formed a stable two point anchorage between the parts. Suitably the Sr " - the clamping means is disposed intermediate the zones of contact which are preferably formed as elongate abutments on either or both, of the members to be joined. In the preferred form the clamping means is a bolted connection between the 5 supporting member and the rail whereby the bolt may be tight- ened to clamp the components together. Preferably the bolt is concealed within the supporting member which may be a hollow section or a solid member provided with a recess in which the bolt may be concealed. 10. For this purpose the term concealed or operatively conceal¬ ed herein in reference to the clamping means is to be taken as a reference to concealment to the extent that the function or usefulness of the article is not hindered and the clamping means is not obstrusive to the extent that it is normally 15 prominantly exposed to view. Access to the clamping means may be achieved in any preferred manner such as by providing a sufficiently large recess about the clamping means to enable access to be gained thereto or in the case of a hollow or tubular 20- supporting member, access is suitably provided by forming a cutout or cutouts in the member to enable a suitable tool to be inserted into the interior of the member to actuate the clamping means. The fixing may be formed between a slat-like supporting member and a rail having a 25 circular section and in such, instances the abutments are adapted to extend in an axial direction along the rail. Of course, each such abutment could be constituted by a plurality of spaced contact points. In a further aspect this invention relates to an 30. article of furniture utilizing the above mentioned fixing and including spaced side frames each having connector rails and there being provided a detachable supporting member interconnecting the rails. In order that the present invention may be more readily 35 understood and put into practical effect, reference will -5- now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of th invention and wherein:- FIX3 1 is a.perspective view of a table made in accordance with the present invention; .FIG 2 is an end view of the corner portion of the table illustrated in Fig 1; FIG 3 is a typical cross-sectional view showing the table top to leg frame joint; FIG 4 is a perspective view of a chair frame made in accordance with the present invention; FIG 5 is a cut-away perspective view illustrating the fixing between a rail and a cross member; FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the ' line 6-6 of Fig 5; and FIGS 7 and 8 illustrate further embodiments of the invention. As illustrated in Figs 1 to 3, an article of furniture made in accordance with the present invention, such as a table 10 comprises a' table top 11 supported between a pair of inverted U-shaped side frames 12 suitably formed of round metal tubing and each having a horizontal rail portion 14 to which central projections 15 of the table top 11 are secured. The table top 11 is relieved at each corner adjacent the junction between the rail portion 14 and the legs 16 and the exposed edges 17 of the table top 11 are uniformly rounded. The outer edges of the central portions 15 are provided with respective elongate recesses 18 having an arcuate cross—section which substantially conforms to the external contour of the rail portion 14 so that the rail 14 can nest within the recess 18. As will be seen in Fig 3, the tubular rail member 14 is provided with, a plurality of tubular spigot members 19. at spaced locations along the rail 14. These spigot members 19 are adapted to engage within corresponding sockets 20 provided centrally along the recess 18 to ,_, operatively locate the table top 11 with, respect to the rails. The clamping means- for securing the table top 11 to the rail 14 in this instance is a bolt 21 which passes through the edge portion 22 of the table top to engage threadedly 5 with the correspondingy threaded spigot member 19. The head of the bolt 21 is concealed within a cavity 23 in the underside of the table top 11. It will be seen that the cross-sectional curve of the recess 18 does not exactly correspond to the 10 cylindrical face of the rail member 14. The recess 18 is relieved at 24 along the central portion of the recess 18 so that the outer edge portions 25 thereof form abutments which initially contact the rail 14 leaving the relieved centre portion spaced clear thereof. As the 15 bolts 28 are tightened the outer abutment portions 25 will be urged into tight engagement with the rail 14 particularly at zones or locations spaced from the central portion 24 whereby a firm connection will be formed between the rail member 14 and the table top 11. The firm 20 connection so formed is maintained in use since the arcuate shape of the edge portions of the projections 15 are of solid form and able to withstand the engagement or clamping force applied through the connecting bolts 21. Of course, in lieu of the spigot members 19 25 providing the location the latter could be provided by the securing bolts or screws engaging directly with the side wall of the tube 1.4. Alternatively the spigot member 19 could be in the form of a longitudinal strip of material extending along the central edge portion of the tube as 30. aforesaid and provided with a plurality of retaining means adapted to be operatively associated wit fasteners passing through, or operatively associated with the table top 11. Furthermore the table top 11 could be formed as a framed assembly having a perimeter side frame, which 35 would correspond in cross-section substantially to the - portion at the left of the recess 26 , and the table top covering secured thereto. In such, application the securing bolts or fasteners could engage directly against a back face of the perimeter frame. 5 Additionally the joint between the rail and a supporting member may be made according to this invention even though- the rail does not have a circular cross-sectional configur¬ ation. For example the joint could equally be made with, a square sectioned tube or a multi-sided tube such as one 10 having a hexagonal cross section and of course the rail could be constituted as a portion of a flat panel. In this respect the term rail used in the specification and claims is to be taken to a reference to a rigid member of any configuration. Th.e supporting member could be solid 15 in lieu of tubular if desired. By utitilizing such arrangement it will be seen that all outer edges of the table top 11 are accessible for cleaning purposes and that the joint between the table top 11 and the leg assemblies 12 is such that a cleaning cloth 20 or the like may reach, substantially all viewable external surfaces. In particular a cleaning cloth or the like may be hand held and moved between the gap 20 provided between the rebated edge 21 of the table top 11 and the adjacent edge 22 of the leg assemblies 12. 25 Figs 4 to 6 illustrate a demountable chair frame assembly utilizing t e fixings of the present invention. The chair frame assembly 30 includes a pair of side frames 31 interconnected by a central supporting member 32 and outer supporting members 33. An upholstered covering 30. tnot shown) having a backrest portion and a seat portion is adapted to be slung between the supporting members 32 and 33. In this embodiment each, side frame 31 includes a central tubular metal joiner section 34 supporting bar-like timber 5 extension portions which constitute the legs 34a,the seat rails 35 and the backrest rails 36. The supporting members 32 and 33 in this embodiment are formed from rectangular hollow section metal tubes which are arcuate in shape so as to more closely conform to body shapes to facilitate 5 comfortable seating. The upholstered covering extends between the seat and backrest rails and is provided with pockets which accomodate the supporting members 32 and 33. The ends of the members 33 are cut so as to conform to the shape of the rails 35 and 36, whereby the upper 0 and lower flanges 37 form spaced abutments 38 at opposite sides of the spaced through bolts 39 which pass through a plate 40 fixed into the interior of the members.33. The bolts 39 engage threadedly with inserts 41 secured into the timber rails. For this purpose the outer surfaces of 15 the inserts 41 may be provided with serrations or the like and suitably they are inserted into apertures with a glue such, as an epoxy resin. In order to gain access to the bolts which are Allen head type bolts one flange of the rail is formed with pressed-out tabs 42 providing access openings 20 43 through which the bolts may pass for engagement with the respective inserts 41 and through which a suitable driving tool 44 such as a BONDHUS driver may be engaged with, the bolts 39 to tighten same. The fixings between the ends of the central rail 32 25 and the insides of tbe joiner sections 34 is as shown in Fig 7. In this fixing a locating lug 45 is welded to the metal joiner section 34 and an insert 46 is secured to the inside of the member 32. Ths lug 45 is threaded at 47 to receive a countersunk.- screw 48, Th.e tapered recess 30. 49 formed in the insert 46 is slightly oversize so that as the screw is tightened the edge of the screw adjacent the joiner 34 engages tbe recess 49 to urge the rail member 32 into engagement with the joiner 34, The chair frame due to the secure fixings will be very 35 rigid when assembled. The only portions of the frame O assembly which will be exposed are the opposite side frames 31. Thus this chair can be easily demounted for shipping and will be rigid and strong and of pleasing appearance when assembled. 5 It will be seen that the fixings on both the chair and table described axe normally concealed from view. In the chair, the rail fixings do not extend outwardly beyond the rails and thus the fixings do not creat obtrusions which may cause discomfort in use or which, will hinder the assembly 10 and retention of a fabric covering thereabout. Fig 8 illustrates a further fixing according to this invention. In this embodiment it will be seen that the spaced abutments 50 are formed on the rail 51 and that the clamping bolt 52 is concealed within a channel formed at 15 the edge of a supporting member 53, Access apertures 54 are provided to enable the bolt 52 to be tightened. It will be thus seen that a fixing according to this invention may be utilized for making joints between say a table top and its supporting legs or between say 20 a vertical privacy screen or panel and its supporting struts. However all such, modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the present invention as is defined in the appended claims. 25 30. 35 OM

Claims: CLAIMS: -8- _ . 1. A concealed fixing suitable for connecting a supporting member to a rail in abutting relationship therewith, said fixing including locating means on said rail and clamping means associated with said supporting member for securing said supporting member to said rail, said clamping means being operatively concealed in said supporting member. 2. A concealed fixing according to Claim 1, wherein the abutment between said supporting member and said rail includes spaced contact zones and said clamping means is located intermediate said contact zones. 3. A concealed fixing according to Claim 2, wherein said contact zones comprise elongate abutments formed on said supporting member and adapted to extend longitudinally along said rail. 4. A concealed fixing according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein said clamping means includes a bolt arranged to extend through an aperture in a connector portion of said supporting member- intermediate said contact zones to engage ±n a threaded socket on said rail. 5. A concealed fixing according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein said threaded socket extends outwardly from said -rail for engagement in a complementary recess in said supporting member. 6. A concealed fixing according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein said threaded socket is disposed internally of said rail. 7. A concealed fixing according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said supporting member is a hollow member and there is provided a cutout therein to provide access to said clamping means. 8. A concealed fixing according to Claim 7, wherein said supporting member is a metal rectangular hollow section. 9. A concealed fixing according to any one of Claims 3 to 8, wherein said abutments are formed as projections f OM at opposite sides of a recess extending along the abutting end of said supporting member. 10. A concealed fixing according to Claim 9, wherein said rail is cylindrical and said recess is a part circular recess having a diameter smaller than the external diameter of said rail and said abutments extend axially along said rail. 11. An article of furniture including a pair of side frames each having a rail and adapted to be interconnected by a demountable supporting member extending between said rails and connected thereto by a concealed fixing as defined in any one of the preceding claims. 12. An article of furniture as Claimed in Claim 11/ wherein each said side frame include a seat rail and back¬ rest rail and there are provided a plurality of said demountable supporting members interconnecting said seat rails and said backrest rails. 13. An article of furniture according to Claim 12, wherein said seat rail and said backrest rail are co.-exten- sive and there is provided a central demountable supporting member extending between the respective junctions of said seat rail and backrest rail and respective outer demountable supporting members interconnecting the common ends of said rails remote from said junctions, said central and outer supporting members providing support for a cushion assembly adapted to be secured thereto. 14. An article of furniture according to Claim 12 . or Claim 13, wherein said demountable supporting members are formed as rectangular slat-like members extending arcuately between said side frames. 15. An article of furniture according to Claim 11, wherein said supporting member is a substantially rectangular table top having opposite centrally disposed edge portions which are adapted for connection to said rails and which extend outwardly beyond the respective adjacent edge portion. - lo- 16, An article of furniture substantially as herein¬ before described with, reference to the accompanying drawings,

Inventors: SORENSEN KURT HAUGEN, SORENSEN, KURT, HAUGEN
Applicants: SORENSEN KURT HAUGEN, SORENSEN, KURT, HAUGEN
Application year: 1982
Main classification: F16B12
IPC codes: A47B13, F16B12