Abstract:
Furniture can be fabricated using a number of modular structural components that are manufactured according to a geometric formula that produces a system of orthogonically interconnectable support members that can be assembled to produce several different articles from the same organization of components. The modular components can be made of exotic hardwoods and by use of the modular components allows for low cost storage and shipping by reduction of bulk normally associated with furniture pieces. The orthogonically coupling joints provide linear compression binding and a balance orthogonal seating geometry.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to modular furniture that may be constructed from prefabricated support members by the end user.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Conventional furniture is constructed by combining frame members with various types of webbing, springs, cushioning materials and coverings which is assembled and presented in the finished form to the consumer. Usually, such furniture construction is beyond the capabilities of the average consumer, either in skill level, tools, or both. This final product presupposes that the furniture designer has created a piece that the end user finds attractive and functional and that will fit into the user&#39;s living space. Customized furniture can be very expensive because of the costs of design, wastes of surplus materials, assembly and finishing. Thus, the average consumer must search out the type of furniture to met their needs and allowable space.  
         [0003]     There are also commercially available products which are disassembled furniture components, together with all the specific fittings, fasteners and instructions, providing the end user with the opportunity to assemble the only piece capable of being constructed from the combination of the components. These pieces are less expensive since the expense of factory assembly, is avoided, but again the size is dictated by the provided construction details.  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,584 to Cook, Jr., the inventor here, uses a system of pre-drilled support units with a constant square cross section to construct a chair with standardized fasteners. The chair is less expensive for shipping and construction since the necessary materials are reduced and factory assembly is avoided.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,223 to Hendel discloses a kit for producing a piece of furniture wherein individual panel elements can be used as side or back panels allowing construction from different components. Panel elements are arranged at right angles and two limb connecting brackets are used in securement.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,792 to Niziol discloses furniture construction having adjacent panels coupled together in such a manner as to form outwardly opening openings at the adjacent ends of the adjacent panels and a new and novel comer bracket for detachably coupling a plurality of angularly related furniture panels.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,239 to Haxxard discloses a frameless self supporting panel members which expand from a flat configuration into a self-supporting volumetric structure. Selectively placed living hinges allow the panels to be bend into predefined configurations.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     This “Orthogonal Compression” furniture technology has nearly unlimited applicability to the unitized construction of all manner of unusually efficient, attractive, functional, heavy load bearing, rigid, collapsible furniture structures, using a minimum volume of standard materials and processing, of which the following are its specifications; reference being made to the accompanying drawings and table of measures, forming a part hereof. By use of the instant construction technique, exotic hardwoods such as Massaronduba, Ipe Tabac, and Jatoba is made affordable by reducing storage, shipping, and assembly costs. Woods such as Teak, hard Maple, Pine and Poplar can also be used, the lower quality woods working well when the structure is a frame such as a cabinet. The storage can be in component pieces with many sizes interchangeable. The shipping costs are dramatically reduced by shipping unassembled components. Assembly costs can be eliminated for the ease of assembly allows the end consumer the ability to assemble the structure by use of easy to follow instructions.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the instant invention to provide a furniture building technology based on orthogonally unitized linear structural components, providing low cost storage, shipping and assembly, and providing a showcase when exotic woods are employed.  
         [0010]     It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide linear compression binding components providing a ease of assembly and strength of construction.  
         [0011]     It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide an ideally balanced orthogonal seating geometry.  
         [0012]     It is a still further objective of the instant invention to provide a system of Orthogonal Compression materials joinery, which combine to produce any desired heavy load bearing, rigid, efficient furniture structure required by the physical/social needs of man, using, on the average, a significantly smaller volume of structural materials and processing than ever before achieved in the art with any combinations of materials and joinery.  
         [0013]     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective drawing of the orthogonally unitized structural building component;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a section and end view drawing of the linear compression binding component;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a directional force drawing of the geometry of ideally balanced seating structures;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is the table of standard measures for Orthogonal Compression structural building components;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a perspective assembly plan for the three piece tilting Orthogonal Compression joint;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective assembly plan for the three piece rigid Orthogonal Compression joint;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  and  8  are perspective assembly plans for, respectively, the seven piece rigid and nine piece rigid Orthogonal Compression joints;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a perspective of a Chair;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a perspective of a Table;  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a perspective of an Arm Chair;  
         [0024]      FIG. 12  is a perspective of a Table with a glass top;  
         [0025]      FIG. 13  is a perspective of a High Table:  
         [0026]      FIG. 14  is a perspective of an elongated Table;  
         [0027]      FIG. 15  is a perspective of a sofa frame;  
         [0028]      FIG. 16  is a perspective of a Coffee Table;  
         [0029]      FIG. 17  is a perspective of a Bed Frame;  
         [0030]      FIG. 18  is a perspective of a Entertainment Center;  
         [0031]      FIG. 19  is a perspective of a Cabinet Base;  
         [0032]      FIG. 20  is a perspective of a Cabinet Base with Doors and Sidewalls; and  
         [0033]      FIG. 21  is a perspective of a Bar Cabinet.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0034]     The orthogonally unitized linear component of  FIG. 1  is the basic structural module of Orthogonal Compression technology employing the following specifications:  
         [0035]     1.1 “λ(n)” is the length of a component. Thus this length is measured in multiples of           and may vary with the application.  
         [0036]     1.2           is the distance across a square section of the component.  
         [0037]     1.3           is a distance equal to ½         , for all feasible values of                     may vary with the application and material of constructions.  
         [0038]     1.4 Sets of multiple, nonintersecting compression holes of diameter 1/4           are placed on exact centers           at a distance equal to η*         , where η=1,2,3 . . . 5 (as required for each embodiment), from each end of the material of length λ, as in  FIG. 1  (where all feasible center locations up to η*          are indicated).  
         [0039]     1.5 The sets of nonintersecting compression holes are replicated for all values of at each distance η=1,2,3 . . . N; as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0040]     2. One of many feasible linear compression binding components is shown in  FIG. 2 . It is particularly suited to common wood structures, and has the following specifications:  
         [0041]     2.1 A female component consisting of a smooth barrel of diameter ¼         , made of a suitably strong metal synthetic, with standard inside throughout its length=η*         ); η≧2 as required by the given Orthogonal Compression joint, and a round convex head of approximate diameter=⅓          containing a recessed standard hexagonal socket of width ¼         .  
         [0042]     2.2 A male component consisting of a standard outside threaded shaft matched to the inside thread and length of the female component, with a similar round convex head and recessed hexagonal socket.  
         [0043]     A dynamic suspension orthogonal seating geometry is depicted in  FIG. 3 . The solid arrows denote the directions of expansion (e,e), and compression (g,g) around the pivot points (e) produced by a force exerted from any angle in the same plane. The 90 degree angles created by the intersection of (p,p) with (f,g) are necessary and sufficient to lock the system internally by exactly balancing these (opposing) forces of expansion (above) and compression (below) about the pivot point (e). An exact structural embodiment of this ideally balanced seating geometry may be realized with ten unitized structural components and fourteen joining pins.  
         [0044]     The three piece rotating joint is constructed of two orthogonal structure elements having pin hole centers at specified locations, a third component having one center at its specified location, and two sets of joint pins of the type illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The Orthogonal Compression joint has the necessary property of rigidity in two dimensions, with full rotation to any angle in the third. Note the plane on which the rotation of the rotating joint is placed, may be set to correspond with the one plane in which an embodiment of the seating geometry of  FIG. 2  is locked to a rigid, 90° position. The rotating joint, combined with the necessary number of structural and joint pinning components, provides lateral stability to the chair structure shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0045]     The three piece joint is constructed with three orthogonal structural elements having compression hole centers (on opposing sides of the square) at 1ζ and 3ζ in each of its three structural members and two sets of compression hardware.  
         [0046]     The three piece rigid joint has the property of fully orthogonal stability achieved with any high density material. The load bearing capacity of a rigid joint is geometrically greater than the sum of the capacity of each part. It seems this property holds for any material and any value of          , all other specifications contained herein held constant. Thus, my Orthogonal Compression technology makes possible the most efficient structures ever achieved in furniture construction, for any given load bearing structural requirement. This gain in efficiency is especially significant with wood.  
         [0047]     The rigid Orthogonal Compression joints can be constructed in variations from the three or four compression joints providing strength yet creating a unique ornamental arrangement.  FIGS. 7 and 8  show extensions of the basic compression joint using multiple components. Compression joints are simply multiplied by the addition of more orthogonally integrated members. Their usefulness lies in larger, heavy load bearing furniture structures like two or three person sofas, one ideal embodiment of such a three person structure requiring both three and four piece Orthogonal Compression joints is shown in  FIG. 15 .  
         [0048]     The wide variety of unusually efficient, comfortable, and attractive structures realizable from my Orthogonal Compression furniture Technology is demonstrated in the linear equations for two ideal embodiments referenced to Table 1 ( FIG. 4 ).  
         [0049]     A variety of other useful embodiments of Orthogonal Compression technology provide extensions of these original two to a person skilled in the art, and I ask that all such extensions be considered a part of these letters patent. The standard component numbers in the plans for the two basic Orthogonal Compression joints as well as the two ideal embodiments in  FIGS. 9 and 10  correspond exactly to the component part numbers appearing in the first column of Table 1 of standard Orthogonal Compression components.  
                                                                   TABLE 1                           ( FIG. 4 ) Orthogonal Compression Component       Lengths and Compression Hole Locations                    COMPRESSION                   #   Lgt   HOLE CENTER   FUNCTION 1   CHAIR   DESK                    1   24ζ   1ζ + 23ζ   FRONT   2   0                   UPRIGHT       2   33ζ   1ζ&gt;   SPACE BAR   1   0       3   33ζ   1ζ/3ζ + 32ζ   STRETCHER   2   0                   BARS       4   33ζ   1ζ + 26ζ   FLOOR RAILS   2   0       5   36ζ   1ζ/3ζ&gt;   TORSION BAR   1   0       6   45ζ   1ζ/16ζ/18ζ + 44ζ   REAR UPRIGHT   2   0       7   44ζ   1ζ/3ζ&gt;   POSTS   0   6       8   45ζ   19ζ/21ζ/23ζ/25ç/27ζ   CROSS BEAMS   0   8       9   73ζ   1ζ/3ζ/5ζ&gt;   LONG BEAMS   0   4               TOTALS       10   18                  
 
 All measures in multiples of           from one end of a structural component. 
    Read specifications and apply from left to right. The notation conventions are:     &gt; repeat exactly on opposite end of material;     /means rotate 90° for next center;     + means move material laterally without rotation to next indicated distance from the end.    
 
         [0054]     By way of example,  FIG. 9  illustrates an assembled armless chair with canvas coverings, using the components from Table 1. The chair is formed from two Front upright components  1 ,  1 ′ ( 24           ); one Space Bart  2  ( 33           ); two stretcher Bars  3 ,  3 ′ ( 33           ); two Floor Rails  4 ,  4 ′ ( 33           ); one Torsion Bar  5  ( 36           ); and two Rear uprights  6 ,  6 ′ ( 45           ). The frame is assembled by positioning the Rear Uprights  6 ,  6 ′ on a flat surface flush and parallel to the Floor Rails  4 ,  4 ′ and connecting them to each other and the Torsion Bar  5  using the connectors shown in  FIG. 2 , wrench tight enough to raise the Rear Uprights to a 100 degree standing position. The two Stretcher Bars  3 ,  3 ′ are then connected simultaneously to the Rear Uprights  6 ,  6 ′ and Torsion Bar  5 ; finger tight to allow further assembly. The seat sling/cushion  7  is then slipped onto the Stretcher Bars  3  &amp;  3 ′ and the back sling/cushion  8  is slipped onto the Rear Uprights  6  &amp;  6 ′. Connecting the Front Uprights  1 ,  1 ′ to the Floor Rails  4 ,  4 ′ and Stretcher Bars  3 ,  3 ′ and connecting the Space Bar  2  to the underside of the Stretcher Barts and wrench tightening all connectors to complete the assembly. The compression binding components have been inserted through said non-intersecting compression holes forming an assembled unit having joints that are oriented orthogonally and locked together in dynamic suspension thus equalizing the forced of compression and expansion.  
         [0055]     By way of further example,  FIG. 10  illustrates a more complex structure making use of both the three-piece rigid and seven-piece rigid joints shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 . This structure is a pedestal desk using the components from Table 1 ( FIG. 4 ). The desk is formed from four Long Beam components  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73           ); eight Cross Beam components  8 ,  8 ′ ( 45           ); and six Posts  7 ,  7 ′ ( 45           ) using three connectors  10 ,  11 , and  12  as shown in  FIG. 2  of inside lengths  10           ,  6           , and  4            respectively. The frame is assembled in the following way. Position on a flat surface the compression holes  5            in the end of two Long Beams  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73           ) so they are aligned on top of compression holes  21           . and  25            of one Cross Beam  8  ( 45           ). Then position on the flat surface three Posts  7 ,  7 ′ ( 45           ) interleaved and flush with the other end of the Long Beams  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73           ). Now position three more Posts  7 ,  7 ′ ( 45           ) interleaved and flush with end of the Long Beams resting on top of the Cross Beam  8  ( 45           ). Insert one male connector  10  ( 10           ) through the holes of the three Posts resting on top of the one Cross Beam and finger tighten with the female connector in  FIG. 2 . Raise these three Posts to a 90° angle with the Cross Beam and place another Cross Beam so that the Posts are sandwiched between them under the two Long Beams. Next insert three male connectors  11  ( 6           ) through the Cross Beam  8 ,  8 ′ ( 45           ) compression holes at  19           ,  23            and  27            aligned with the compression holes in the Posts  7 ,  7 ′ ( 45           ) at  3            and finger tighten with female connectors in  FIG. 2 . Insert one male connector  10  ( 10           ) through the connector holes of the three Posts positioned beside the two Long Beams at the other end of the structure and finger tighten with the female connector in  FIG. 2 . Lift these connected Posts and Long Beams and position another Cross Beam  8  ( 45           ) so the compression holes  21            and  25            of the Cross Beam are aligned with the compression holes  5            in the end of two Long Beams  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73           ). Raise these three Posts to a 90° angle with the Cross Beam and place a second Cross Beam  8  ( 45           ) so that the three Posts are sandwiched between them under the Long Beams and insert three male connectors  11  ( 6           ) through the Cross Beam compression holes  19           ,  23            and  27            and Post compression holes  3            and finger tighten with female connectors in  FIG. 2  as before. Position the remaining two Long Beams  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73           ) so the compression holes  5            are aligned with the compression holes  3            in the top of the Posts on one end of the structure. Insert one male connector  10  ( 10           ) through the holes of the three Posts and two Long Beams and finger tighten with female connectors in  FIG. 2  as before. Raise the other end of the Long Beams so the compression holes  5            are aligned with the compression holes  3            in the top of the Posts. Insert one male connector  10  ( 10           ) through the holes of the three Posts and two Long Beams and finger tighten with female connectors in  FIG. 2  as before. Place two more Cross Beams  8 ,  8 ′ ( 45           ) so the compression holes  21            and  25            are aligned with the compression holes  5            in the end of the two Long Beams  9 ,  9 ′ ( 73 ;         ). Insert the sixteen male connectors  12  ( 4           ) through the Long Beam compression holes at  1            and  5            aligned with Cross Beam compression holes at  21           ; and  25           ; and finger tighten with female connectors in  FIG. 2 . Wrench tighten all connectors.  
         [0056]     The two embodiments described by the equations in Table 1 ( FIG. 4 ) and illustrated in  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  represent furniture structures suited to two entirely different functions, yet both are created from just five (5) different lengths of the standard unitized component in  FIG. 1  in the same uniform cross-sections (22/16 th ) of wood with only nine (9) unique compression hole locations. Shortening the Posts to  23           ; and the desk becomes a rectangular coffee table without any other changes. In addition to these extraordinary supply-side efficiencies, each piece of furniture is extremely durable, capable of bearing heavy loads, and may be constructed and deconstructed time and again by consumers providing equal demand-side efficiencies.  
         [0057]     All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.  
         [0058]     It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.  
         [0059]     One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.