Patent Publication Number: US-2004051013-A1

Title: Furniture leg with article suspending projection

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] (1) Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention pertains to a furniture leg having a projection that may be used to suspend an article, for example suspend a cap, a jacket or a student&#39;s backpack from the furniture leg projection.  
       [0003] In particular, the present invention pertains to a furniture leg support that is attached to the underside of a piece of furniture, for example a tabletop, where the leg support is tubular with an interior bore that receives a leg section that can be adjustably positioned in the interior bore. A support brace extends between the leg support and the piece of furniture to reinforce the leg support. The brace has a projection at its attachment to the leg support and the projection can be used to suspend an article, such as an article of clothing, from the projection.  
       [0004] (2) Description of the Related Art  
       [0005] Pieces of furniture, for example schoolroom chairs, have been designed with projections or hooks on some portion of the furniture that may be employed in suspending a student&#39;s backpack or an article of clothing from the projecting hook. Typically, the hook is positioned on the furniture where it will not interfere with the comfort of the student sitting in the furniture or interfere with the student&#39;s use of the piece of furniture. Clothing or backpack suspending hooks have been employed on the back surfaces of chair backs where they will suspend an article of clothing or a backpack of the student behind the student&#39;s back.  
       [0006] Some prior art designs of furniture incorporating an article suspending hook or projection, and in particular schoolroom furniture, have been disadvantaged in that the addition of the projection or hook for suspending the article is positioned on the piece of furniture where it adversely effects the stability of the piece of furniture. For example, the positioning of an article suspending projection or hook on the back of a schoolroom chair could adversely effect the stability of the chair. Schoolroom furniture is typically smaller in size than, for example, office furniture. The reduced size of the furniture also reduces the furniture&#39;s weight. Suspending a backpack on the back of a schoolroom chair could cause the chair to tip over backwards if the contents of the backpack have sufficient weight.  
       [0007] In addition, a desirable characteristic of schoolroom furniture is that it be inexpensive. This requires the furniture to be constructed in an inexpensive manner. Adding an additional structural component to a schoolroom piece of furniture like a projection or hook for suspending articles from the furniture adds to the construction cost of the furniture. Where the construction of the piece of furniture is simplified like that of schoolroom furniture where the numbers of component parts is reduced, adding another component part like a projection or hook for a backpack could significantly increase the cost of manufacturing the piece of furniture.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] The present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art furniture employing a projection for suspending an article from the furniture by providing a furniture leg having a projection built into a structural component of the leg. By adding the projection to a structural component of the leg that is already necessary for the strength and stability of the leg, the projection for suspending articles is added to the piece of furniture without adding an additional structural component to the piece of furniture, thereby avoiding an increase in the cost of manufacturing the furniture. In addition, the projection for suspending an article is positioned on the furniture leg where it will not adversely affect the stability of the piece of furniture.  
       [0009] The apparatus of the invention is incorporated into an assembly that securely attaches a leg to a piece of furniture. The apparatus of the invention may be employed with various different types of furniture, for example, chairs or tables, and is described herein as being employed with a table.  
       [0010] In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus is constructed entirely of metal and may be employed with metal furniture or wood furniture or furniture constructed of other materials. The apparatus of the invention is basically comprised of a base, a furniture leg support, and a support brace that extends between the leg support and base.  
       [0011] The base is a flat planar member that has a plurality of holes therethrough that are dimensioned to receive threaded fasteners in attaching the base to a piece of furniture. In the preferred embodiment the base has a triangular configuration to fit into a corner on the underside of a table, but could have a variety of different configurations.  
       [0012] The furniture leg support has a length with opposite proximal and distal ends, and the leg support proximal end is secured to the base. The leg support projects from the base to the leg support distal end. In the preferred embodiment the leg support is hollow and tubular. An interior bore of the leg support is accessible through an opening at the leg support distal end. A leg section of the piece of furniture can be inserted through the leg support opening and into the interior bore. Reciprocating the leg section through the leg support of the apparatus adjusts the length of the furniture leg. An internally threaded collar with a screw threaded fastener is provided on a side of the leg support. The screw-threaded fastener can be turned to extend the fastener into the interior bore of the leg support where it will contact the leg section and hold the leg section in its adjusted position in the leg support.  
       [0013] A support brace is connected between the base and the leg support of the apparatus to reinforce the connection of the leg support with the base. In the preferred embodiment, the brace has a length with opposite proximal and distal ends with the proximal end connected to the base and the distal end connected to the leg support. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the brace is an elongate rod having opposite ends and a bent intermediate portion of the rod. The bend in the intermediate portion of the rod gives the rod a V-shape or a triangular configuration, with the bend being at the apex of the V-shape or triangle and with the opposite ends of the rod being at the opposite base of the triangle. The opposite ends of the bent rod form the proximal end of the brace and are attached to the base. The brace extends from its proximal end to the distal end of the brace where the bent portion of the brace rod is secured to the side of the leg support. Thus, the bent rod of the brace and the leg support form a tripod connection with the base.  
       [0014] In addition to the construction of the support brace described above, the bent portion of the brace rod that is attached to the leg support is formed to produce a projection or hook that projects outwardly from the side of the leg support. The bent projection is positioned on a side of the leg support where it is unobstructed by the leg support or the base, thus providing easy access to the projection for suspending an article from the projection. In addition, the bent portion of the brace rod that forms the projection is an integral part of the rod. Thus, the bent rod serves the dual functions of reinforcing the connection of the furniture leg support to the base and providing a projection on the leg support for suspending articles such as clothing or a student&#39;s backpack. In the manner set forth above, the construction of the apparatus of the invention provides a furniture leg support that also includes a projection or hook for suspending articles from the leg support where a component part of the leg support, i.e., the support brace, serves the dual functions of reinforcing the connection of the leg support to the base and providing a projection for suspending articles from the leg support. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
     [0015] Further features of the invention are revealed in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and in the drawing figures wherein:  
     [0016]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the furniture leg support apparatus of the invention;  
     [0017]FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;  
     [0018]FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the apparatus;  
     [0019]FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the apparatus;  
     [0020]FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the apparatus;  
     [0021]FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the apparatus;  
     [0022]FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus; and,  
     [0023]FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of the invention employed in the construction of a table. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0024] As explained earlier, the apparatus of the invention is incorporated into an assembly that securely attaches a leg to a piece of furniture and supports the leg. The apparatus of the invention may be employed with various different types of furniture, for example chairs or tables, and is described herein as being employed with a table or desk.  
     [0025] The apparatus of the invention is basically comprised of a base  12 , a furniture leg support  14 , and a support brace  16  that extends between the base  12  and the furniture leg support  14 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each of these three component parts of the apparatus is constructed entirely of metal. The apparatus may be employed with metal furniture or wood furniture or furniture constructed of other materials. In addition, the apparatus could be constructed of materials other than metal.  
     [0026] The base  12  is a flat planar member, preferably a flat metal plate having opposite first  20  and second  22  surfaces. The first surface  20  of the base is the top surface as it is designed to be attached to the underside of a tabletop. The second surface  22  is the base bottom surface. However, the reference to opposite top and bottom surfaces should not be interpreted as limiting. In the preferred embodiment, the base  12  has a peripheral edge  24  that has a triangular configuration to fit into a corner of the underside of the table. The base could also have a variety of different configurations, for example a square or rectangular configuration. A plurality of holes  26  pass through the base and are provided to receive threaded fasteners in attaching the base to a piece of furniture. Other equivalent means of attaching the base to the piece of furniture could also be employed. Two holes  28  of the plurality of holes are provided for attaching the support brace  16  to the base  12 , as will be explained.  
     [0027] The furniture leg support  14  in the preferred embodiment is tubular and has a length with opposite proximal  32  and distal  34  ends. The tubular configuration gives the leg support  14  a hollow interior bore  36  that extends through the length of the leg support and has a center axis  38 . The leg support proximal end  32  is secured to the second surface or bottom surface  22  of the base  12  by a weld or other equivalent means. The leg support  14  is secured to the base  12  in an angled orientation that is best seen in FIG. 5. The angled orientation of the leg support  14  relative to the base  12  defines and obtuse angle between a first side  40  of the leg support  14  and the base  12 , and an acute angle between an opposite second side  42  of the leg support  14  and the base  12 , as seen in FIG. 5. This angled orientation of the leg support  14  relative to the base  12  gives greater stability to the piece of furniture with which the apparatus of the invention is used. The leg support  14  projects from the base  12  to the leg support distal end  34  where an opening is provided into the leg support interior bore  36 . The opening  44  is provided to receive a leg section of a piece of furniture inserted through the opening into the leg support interior bore  36 . An example of a table  46  employing the apparatus of the invention for attaching leg sections  48  to the table is shown in FIG. 8. The length of the leg support  14  enables the leg section  48  to be reciprocated through the leg support interior bore  36  to adjust the overall length of the table leg defined by the length of the leg support  14  and the adjusted position of the leg section  48 . An internally threaded collar  50  is provided on the first side  40  of the leg support. The internal screw threading of the collar  50  can receive a screw threaded fastener that can be turned to extend the fastener through the collar and into the leg support interior bore  36  to engage with a leg section  48  inserted into the bore and hold the leg section in its adjusted position in the leg support. Instead of the internally threaded collar  50 , other means of adjustably positioning the leg section  48  in the leg support interior bore  36 , for example mating screw threading on the exterior of the leg section and the interior of the interior bore may be employed to adjustably position the leg section in the leg support. Still further, in a variant embodiment of the apparatus of the invention the leg sections  40  could be integral extensions of the leg supports  14  where the overall lengths of the furniture legs would not be adjustable.  
     [0028] The support brace  60  is connected at an angle between the base  12  and the furniture leg support  14  and functions as a gusset reinforcing the connection of the leg support  14  with the base  12 . As shown in the drawing figures, the brace  16  has opposite proximal  54  and distal  56  ends that are connected between the bottom surface  22  of the base and the first side  40  of the leg support. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the brace  16  is an elongate rod having opposite ends  58  and a bent portion  60  intermediate the rod ends. The bend in the intermediate portion  60  of the rod gives the rod a V-shape or a triangular configuration with the bend  60  being at the apex of the V-shape or triangle and with the opposite ends  58  of the rod being at the opposite base of the triangular configuration. The opposite ends  50  of the rod form the proximal end of the support base  16  and are attached to the bottom surface  22  of the base in the support brace holes  28 . In the preferred embodiment, the opposite ends  58  of the rod are attached to the base  12  by welds securing the brace proximal end  54  to the base, but could be secured to the base by other equivalent means. The brace extends from its proximal end connected to the base  12  to the brace distal end  56  defined by the bent portion  60  of the rod. The bent portion  60  of the rod is formed by folding over the intermediate portion of the rod and then folding the bent portion back so that the bent portion  60  projects toward the brace proximal end  54  defined by the opposite ends  58  of the rod. The brace distal end  56  defined by the bent portion  60  of the rod is secured to the first side  40  of the leg support by a weld or other equivalent means. The brace distal end  56  is secured to the leg support  14  intermediate the opposite proximal  32  and distal  34  ends of the leg support with the projection  64  formed by the bent portion  60  being unobstructed by the leg support  14  or the base  12 . This positioning of the projection formed by the bent portion  60  provides easy access to the projection for suspending a separate article from the projection, for example suspending an article of clothing or a student&#39;s backpack from the projection. In addition, the projection  62  formed by the bent portion of the support brace rod is an integral part of the rod and the brace. Thus, the bent rod of the brace  16  serves the dual functions of reinforcing the connection of the furniture leg support  16  to the base  12  and providing a projection  62  on the furniture leg support for suspending separate articles such as clothing or a student&#39;s backpack. In addition, positioning the projection  60  on the inside of the leg support  14  where it is inside the four furniture legs will not adversely effect the stability of the piece of furniture when a heavy object like a full backpack is suspended from the projection.  
     [0029] In the manner set forth above, the construction of the apparatus of the invention provides a furniture leg support that also includes a projection or hook for suspending separate articles from the leg support where a component part of the leg support, i.e. the support brace, serves the dual functions of reinforcing the connection of the leg support to the base and providing a projection for suspending articles from the leg support.  
     [0030] Although the invention has been described above by reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be appreciated that other variations and alterations of the invention may be arrived at without departing from the scope of protection defined by the following claims.