PEDESTAL

Abstract: A pedestal, particularly a pedestal which provides a base for a swivel chair or other article of furniture, comprises a socket (10) for receiving an upstanding column and a plurality of arms (11) extending radially from the socket to support it on a floor, characterised in that the socket (10) and its supporting arms (11) are moulded in one piece, e.g. from plastics, the arms are hollow with tops which are open when moulded, and separately formed cover strips (14) are attached to the tops of the arms to close them.

Description: TITLE: PEDESTAL Description Technical Field The invention relates to pedestals and particularly, but not exclusively, to pedestals which provide bases for swivel chairs and other articles of furniture. Background Art Pedestals are well known, for chairs and other articles, which comprise a central socket supported in use by arms or legs extending radially therefrom. The socket can receive an upright column (e.g. a tube or a rod) which carries the chair or other article. Such pedestals are usually made of metal, the parts being welded together, or cast in one piece. It is however known to make such pedestals as plastics mouldings, the arms, in cross section, being formed as inverted U-sections whereby the upper surfaces of the arms present a rounded appearance. Disclosure of Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a pedestal, particularly for swivel chairs but which is capable of other uses, as a moulding, and which is more versatile than the known pedestals. According to the invention, a pedestal comprises a socket for receiving an upstanding column and a plurality of arms extending radially from the socket to support it on a floor, characterised in that the socket and its supporting arms are moulded in one piece, e.g. from plastics, the arms are hollow with tops which are open when moulded, and separately formed cover strips are attached to the tops of the arms to close them. The invention therefore permits a pedestal to be produced mainly by a single moulding operation but with the subsequent addition of cover strips. The cover strips are preferably formed by moulding from plastics. They may be moulded with underlying resilient projections having detents which are engageable under abutments in the arms to hold the cover strips in place. Alternatively the cover strips may be apertured to permit the passage of resilient projections on upper strips, the projections having detents engageable under abutments in the arms to hold the cover strips and upper strips in place. The cover strips or upper strips may have any desired decorative or ornamental material applied to them, so that pedestals in accordance with the invention can readily be produced with a wide variety of different surface appearances on the arms. For stability of the pedestal, there will normally be at least three supporting arms, but preferably the pedestal is provided with five arms. The ends of the arms distant from the socket are preferably provided with recesses for receiving castor wheels. The invention also provides a chair having a base in the form of a pedestal as hereinbefore defined, a column mounted in the socket and a seat secured to the top of the column. The following is a description, by way of example, of one embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. Brief Description of Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pedestal in accordance with the invention, the pedestal being shown fitted with castor wheels; Fig. 2 is a sectional view, excluding the castor wheels, on line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view, excluding the castor wheels, on line B-B of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of an alternative form of main cover strip for an arm of the pedestal of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional side view of the strip of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a cross sectional end view of the strip of Fig. 4 taken on the line A-A of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an underneath plan view of an upper or decorative strip, and Fig. 8 is a side view of the strip of Fig. 7. Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention The pedestal shown in the drawings is a chair base comprising a central socket 10 from which extend five tapered supporting arms 11. The arms extend radially from the socket in equi-spaced relationship and in a plane normal to the axis of the socket. Each arm 11 is provided at its outer end with a recess 22 of circular cross-section for receiving the carrying spindle of a castor wheel 12. The arms 11 are moulded from plastics in one piece with the socket 10 and are, except at their end portions in the region of the recesses 22, of hollow U-shaped configuration and provided at intervals along their length with internal cross-panels (not shown) for strengthening purposes. At said end portions, each arm has flat upper and lower sides defined by the ends of a central boss 23 provided with a recess 22, an outer open-ended circular wall 24 spaced from and co-axial with the boss 23 and a plurality of radial webs 13 connecting the boss with the circular wall and extending parallel to the axis thereof. The recess 22 opens through the lower end of the boss 23 and communicates co-axially with a rectangular upper passageway opening through the upper end of the boss and providing steps or abutment surfaces 17 at the junction of the recess and passageway. The arms 11 are provided at intervals along their length with further bosses 23 of similar formation to the boss described above but without the outer wall and radial webs. Longitudinally extending webs interconnect said further bosses and said cross panels in each arm and the ends of the arm and a longitudinal web may co-operate with crossing diagonal webs to interconnect the outer wall 24 and the nearest cross-panel. All of the parts hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings are moulded in one piece. The tops of the arms, which are open when moulded, are closed by separately moulded cover strips 14 which clip into position by pairs of integral, resilient, depending flanges 15 having detents 16 which project sideways and engage below the abutment surfaces 17 in the bosses 23. The arms 11 may be provided with any desired ornamentation or decoration on the outer surfaces of their cover strips, for example in the form of thinner strips secured by adhesive. In an alternative arrangement shown in Figures 4 to 8 of the drawings, the cover strips 14, which are otherwise similar to those of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, do not themselves carry detents but are apertured at 18 to permit the passage of resilient projections 19 on upper strips 20, which projections have detents 21 engaging below abutment surfaces 17 in the arms 11 , the upper strips 20 being wider than the apertures 18 in the strips 1 so that when the detents 21 engage below the abutment surfaces the assembly of strips and arms is held securely together. The upper strips may also provide any desired ornamental effect. Industrial Applicability In use, the socket 10 contains an upright column, e.g. a tube or shaft, carrying a seat or other object. Normally, the the socket is conical and the bottom end the tube or shaft is correspondingly shaped so that it can be wedged in the socket. Clearly it would be possible to mould a pedestal incorporating the teachings of the present invention in materials other than plastics, e.g. in metals such as aluminium. Also it would be possible to construct a pedestal in which the main part is made from one material, e.g. aluminium, and the cover parts are made from plastics, and vice versa.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A pedestal comprising a socket for receiving an upstanding column and a plurality of arms extending radially from the socket to support it on a floor, characterised in that the socket and its supporting arms are moulded in one piece, the arms are hollow with tops which are open when moulded, and separately formed cover strips are attached to the tops of the arms to close them. 2. A pedestal according to claim 1 characterised in that the socket and supporting arms are moulded from plastics. 3. A pedestal according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that the cover strips are formed by moulding from plastics. 4. A pedestal according to claim 1 characterised in that the cover strips are moulded with underlying resilient projections having detents which are engageable under abutments in the arms to hold the cover strips in place. 5. A pedestal according to claim 1 characterised in that the cover strips are apertured to permit the passage of resilient projections on upper strips, the projections having detents engageable under abutments in the arms to hold the cover strips and upper strips in place. 6. A pedestal according to claim 1 characterised by having five arms. 7. A pedestal according to claim 1 characterised in that the ends of the arms distant from the socket are provided with recesses for receiving castor wheels. 8. A chair having a base in the form of a pedestal according to claim 1 , a column mounted in the socket and a seat secured to the top of the column.

Inventors: HAINES JOHN DEREK, HAINES, JOHN, DEREK
Applicants: LEACH GORDON C, LEACH, GORDON, CHRISTOPHER
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A47C7
IPC codes: A47C7