Abstract:
A furniture assembly system utilizes upright members having a pair of protruding hook portions that cooperate with a similar pair of hook portions of another upright member and mutually interconnect through slots in a shelf to hold the shelf in place. A plug inserts into an aperture formed by the interconnecting hook portions to hold the upright members in place and secondarily to provide further support to the shelf.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/292,346, filed May 21, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to devices wherein upright, rigid, planar supporting members have the structure to support a horizontal surface from opposite sides of the surface and project toward each other. In particular, the present invention relates to a free standing furniture system that is disassemblable and reassemblable without using permanent or threaded or similar fasteners.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Furniture is often permanently assembled using glue, threaded fasteners, and other kinds of fasteners that are intended to be reasonably permanent. This method of assembly is generally desirable when the furniture will be used in one location for an extended period of time and when limited flexibility for adding on or changing components is not important. A disadvantage of this kind of furniture is that it is difficult to easily disassemble and reassemble, move, and store. Consequently, non-permanently assemblable furniture that can be readily assembled, disassembled, and re-assembled is very useful in certain situations. Adults may use this kind of furniture in temporary work settings where furniture is needed to hold or help organize items. Students may use this kind of furniture in temporary living situations such as apartments or dorm rooms that must be vacated at the end of each school year. Even children can use this kind of furniture, which may provide some sense of self-determination in that it is easy to tear down and set-up when children want to rearrange their bedroom or play areas.  
           [0004]    Reassemblable furniture is well known to those in the art. Examples of this kind of furniture include Scarlett, U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,987, Fabricated Chair; Leeper, U.S. Pat. No. 2,526,246, Self-Locking Structure; Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,812, Knockdown Table Furniture; Beaver, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,924, Inexpensive and Disassemblable Structural Units; Wartes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,700, Multifunctional Pegged Furniture; Chacon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,065, Modular Furniture; and Hogberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,113, Table or Stool of Separable Components.  
           [0005]    In particular, shelves or bookcases have been made to be assemblable, such as Takahashi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,311, Sectional Unit Furniture Assembly and Merkel, U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,022, Component Shelf System, wherein interlocking slots are used, or tabs positioned through slots perpendicularly and secured in place by securing bars or wedge members positioned through the tabs. Other shelves or bookcases use only tabs positioned through slots and secured by wedges, wedge bars, or tapping pegs positioned through the tabs, such as the furniture disclosed in Rosenthal, U.S. Pat. No. 2,366,676, Knock-Down Shelving Structure; Schneider, U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,002, Display Stand; and Gollick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,232, Modular Shelving Interconnection Assembly. Each of these shelving units or bookcases uses upright side pieces that are one integral or unitary piece of wood or other similar material. Thus, the tabs must be at the ends of the shelves, and the wedges or other holding means generally cannot be used to support the shelves. In Rubenstein, U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,101, Joint Construction, the side pieces of the shelves are comprised of several pieces. These side pieces, however, are not interlocking; rather they abut the tops and bottoms of the shelves and held in place merely by wedges inserted through slots in the shelves. These wedges likewise cannot offer additional support to the shelves.  
           [0006]    It would be advantageous to have shelves or bookcases that include side members that are not unitary, so that the furniture is expandable and different side piece components and shelves can be intermixed for different appearances, and whereby the side members are interlocking in three dimensions to give the furniture additional stability. It would also be advantageous if the means to hold the side members and shelves in place could be used to help support the shelves when the furniture is assembled.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    A furniture assembly system utilizes upright members having a pair of protruding hook portions that cooperate with a similar pair of hook portions of another upright member and mutually interconnect through slots in a shelf to hold the shelf in place. A plug inserts into an aperture formed by the interconnecting hook portions to hold the upright members in place and secondarily to provide further support to the shelf.  
           [0008]    The present invention provides a furniture assembly system. The furniture is reassemblable and can be used in a myriad of situations by persons of all ages. The system is easy to assemble and does not use permanent or threaded or similar fasteners so that tools are unnecessary for assembling a system. The sides of the system are not unitary, so that the furniture is expandable and different upright members and shelves can be intermixed. The upright component members have hook portions to cooperatively and mutually interconnect to give added stability to the system, which hook portions have fluted surfaces where they interconnect to offer additional lateral stability. The system uses plugs to hold the upright members in place, and the position of upright members is not limited only to the ends of the shelves.  
           [0009]    A preferred embodiment of a free standing shelf assembly system comprises at least one shelf and upright members including at least two foot members and at least two side members, the top side members being crown members and the other side members being middle members, with each shelf and upright member having opposing planar surfaces. The shelf has top and bottom opposing planar surfaces, two opposing ends, and at least one slot approximate each end. A foot member is positioned at each end of the shelf and positioned along a plane approximately perpendicular to the shelf and aligned with the respective at least one slot. A foot member has a top surface to engage the bottom surface of the shelf and at least one lower hook portion that is constructed and arranged to extend through the respective slot. A side member is likewise positioned at each end of the shelf so that its planar surfaces align with those of the respective foot member. Each side member has a bottom surface to engage the top surface of the shelf and at least one upper hook portion extending through the respective slot to cooperatively and mutually interconnect with the respective lower hook portion of the respective foot member, whereby an aperture is formed. A plug is positions in the aperture to hold the interconnecting upright members in place.  
           [0010]    In general, a preferred embodiment of the joint construction and arrangement comprises separable first, second and third planar, joined members, wherein each member has opposing planar surfaces and wherein the planar surfaces of the second and third members are aligned with each other along a plane approximately perpendicular to the first member. The first member has at least one slot therethrough aligned with the second and third members. The second and third members respectively engage opposite surfaces of the first member and have hook portions extending through the slot to engage each other in a cooperative and mutually interconnecting manner that forms an aperture. A plug is positioned in the aperture to hold the second and third members in place, and consequently the first member as well.  
           [0011]    To assemble a preferred embodiment of the joint, a first planar member, having opposing planar surfaces and having at least one slot therethrough, and second and third planar members, each having opposing planar surfaces and a hook portion, are provided. The planar surfaces of the second and third members are aligned with each other along a plane approximately perpendicular to the first member and with the at least one slot and positioned to engage opposite surfaces of the first member. The hook portion of each the second and the third members are extended through the at least one slot to engage the hook portion of the other in a mutually interconnecting manner, and a plug is provided and inserted between the hook portions of the second and third members to hold them in place. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    FIGS.  1 A-B are close-up views of the joint construction and arrangement used to assemble a shelf furniture assembly system.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a shelf furniture assembly system.  
         [0014]    FIGS.  3 A-C are top, side, and front views of a shelf furniture assembly system.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is an illustration of a shelf furniture assembly system demonstrating the feature of stacking.  
         [0016]    FIGS.  5 A-D are an illustration of assembling a joint used to assemble a shelf furniture assembly system.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a close-up view of interconnecting hook portions.  
         [0018]    FIGS.  7 A-C are alternative embodiments of the joint construction and arrangement. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]    The preferred embodiment relates to a furniture assembly system in accordance with the present invention. In particular, the preferred embodiment is a free standing shelf or bookcase, although those skilled in the art are aware that the present invention can be used to for many different kinds of furniture such as chairs or tables. As shown in FIGS.  1 A-B, the focal point of the present invention and the shelf assembly system is the joint construction and arrangement. An x-y-z coordinate system  99  is illustrated for reference purposes. The joint is used to hold a first member  101  in place by a second member  102  and a third member  103 . The first member  101 , second member  102 , and third member  103  are all planar and have opposing planar surfaces  104 . The first member  101  has a slot  105 , and the planar surfaces  104  of the second member  102  and the third member  103  are aligned with each other along a plane approximately perpendicular to the first member  101  and with the slot  105  in the first member  101 . The second member  102  and the third member  103  have a hook portion, and as later shown in FIGS.  2 - 5 , when the joint is assembled, the second member  102  and the third member  103  engage opposite surfaces of the first member  101 , and the hook portion  106  of the second member  102  and the third member  103  extend through the slot of the first member  101  to engage the hook portion  106  of the other in a mutually interconnecting manner to form an aperture  107 . A plug  108  is positioned in this aperture  107  to hold the second member  102  and third member  103  in place. Preferably, the only manner to extend the hook portions  106  through the slot  105  is in a direction perpendicular to the slot  106 . Consequently, positioning the plug  106  in the aperture  107  prevents movement of the second member  102  and the third member  103  without movement of the other, which is engaged against a planar surface of the first member  101 . The plug  108  may be made of wood and preferably of rigid, slightly resilient plastic, rubber, or similar material. The plug  108  is generally cylindrical to match the aperture  107  which is round and extends between the opposing planar surfaces of the second member  102  and the third member  103 . If desirable, the plug  108  can be made longer to extend under and support the first member  101 .  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the shelf assembly system  10 . The shelf system  10  includes at least one shelf or first shelf  20  and preferably a second shelf  73  or more. Each shelf is horizontally oriented. Each shelf, and particularly the first shelf  20  has a top planar surface  21  opposite a bottom planar surface  22 , two opposing ends  23 , and at least one slot  24 , although preferably two slots  24 , approximate each end  23 . The slots  24  preferably are positioned parallel to the ends  23  of each shelf.  
         [0021]    The shelf system  10  further includes upright members  30  including foot members  40  and side members  50 , which side members are either middle members or crown members  80 . Like shelves  20 , upright members  30  are planar and have opposing planar surfaces. A shelf system  10  preferably has two foot members  40  upon which the shelf system  10  rests. Each foot member  40  has a top surface  42  and an upwardly extending lower hook portion  43  for interconnecting with a side member  50 , preferably a middle member  70 . The interconnecting surfaces are at least partially ribbed or fluted  44  to provide additional lateral stability in the z direction. FIG. 6 shows a close-up of interconnecting hook portions. A side member has at least a bottom surface  52 , and downwardly extending upper hook portion  53 , and fluted surfaces where the hook portion  53  interconnects. Side members  50  that are also middle members  70  are used to expand the shelf system  10  upwardly and also have a top surface and an upwardly extending lower hook portion  72 . while crown members  80  have a smooth, curvilinear top surface  81 . Crown members  80  are used as the top most side member  50  to give a shelf system  10  a finished look. A shelf system  10  preferably has two middle members  70  and two crown members  80 , although as shown in FIG. 4, shelf systems  10  may have two, four, or even more middle members  70 , depending on the strength of the materials used.  
         [0022]    The region where engagement occurs between shelves and upright members includes two pair of cooperating or mutually interconnecting hook portions, two upper hook portions and two lower hook portions extending through two respective slots. Preferably, each hook portion has a receiving area having fluted surfaces for securely interconnecting. Each hook portion also has a recess  62  configured to align with the recess  62  of the other cooperating hook portion. When cooperating pairs of hook portions are interconnected, these recesses  62  form an aperture (not shown) into which a plug  61  is inserted to hold the upright members in place. A plug  61  are longer than the distance between the opposing surfaces of an upright member so that they can extend under and support a shelf. The area between each pair of cooperating hook portions is flat and recessed so that it firmly engages a shelf between interconnected upright members. In this manner, once a plug is inserted, the joint is held fast.  
         [0023]    As shown in FIGS.  3 A-C, edges of rear backing panels  90  may be received in channels  91  in the side members and shelves. A rear backing panel provides additional rigidity to the assembly to resist shear stresses. Additional shelves may be supported by horizontal slots or pegs in side members. Doors may also be added to a shelf assembly system. FIGS.  7 A-C are alternative embodiments of the joint construction and arrangement.  
         [0024]    As shown in FIGS.  5 A-D, to assemble a preferred embodiment of the joint, a first planar member  101 , having opposing planar surfaces and having at least one slot therethrough, and second  102  and third  103  planar members, each having opposing planar surfaces and a hook portion, are provided. The planar surfaces of the second and third members are aligned with each other along a plane approximately perpendicular to the first member and with the at least one slot and positioned to engage opposite surfaces of the first member. The hook portion of each the second and the third members are extended through the at least one slot to engage the hook portion of the other in a mutually interconnecting manner, and a plug is provided and inserted between the hook portions of the second and third members to hold them in place.  
         [0025]    Although the preferred embodiment of the furniture assembly system has been described herein, numerous changes and variations can be made and the scope of the invention is intended to be defined by the claims herein.