Patent Publication Number: US-6220562-B1

Title: Furniture tipping restraint

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     In general, the present invention relates to the technical field of devices for preventing the inadvertent tipping of furniture. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices wherethrough furniture which is placed generally against a wall is prevented from tipping away therefrom. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Furniture such as chests of drawers, bookcases, television carts, etc., have been very widely commonly used in homes for their intended purposes. Unfortunately, pursuant to reports by the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission, thousands of injuries and several deaths have occurred to children as a result of such furniture being tipped over. It is reported that most of these injuries involved furniture with drawers such as dressers and chests of drawers and, further, that most of these injuries occurred to children under the age of 5. It is believed that young children try to pull themselves up or climb the chests of drawers or bookcases thereby causing them to tip over. 
     As a result of these reports and current awareness of the problem, some furniture manufacturers have been asked to modify the design of their furniture so as to hopefully prevent or decrease the possibility that the furniture could be tipped over. As can be appreciated, however, furniture such as chests of drawers, television carts and bookcase shelves have been standardized for many years and modifications, for example, to the dimensions of such furniture for preventing inadvertent tipping, in general, makes such furniture unusable or cumbersome for their intended purpose and are essentially unacceptable to typical consumers. As a result, it is recommended and most preferable that such furniture be placed as far back as possible against a wall and that braces or anchors be used to secure the furniture to the floor or wall. Although such furniture anchors and/or braces can be effective in preventing the furniture from tipping over, they must not be cumbersome, difficult to install, or expensive, so that they will readily and widely be used by most consumers. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a furniture tipping restraint which can easily be installed, which would not detract from the appearance of the furniture, is generally inexpensive, and which is effective in helping to prevent furniture from inadvertently being tipped over and potentially causing injury. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the above-discussed problems associated with furniture inadvertently being tipped over and to provide a furniture tipping restraint which meets the above-discussed needs. 
     The present invention overcomes such problems by providing a furniture tipping restraint which is adapted to be attached between the back wall of a piece of furniture and the house wall whereagainst the furniture is located such that the furniture is restrained from easily being tipped over away from the wall. The furniture tipping restraint includes a first anchor which is attachable to a house wall adjacent the location whereat the piece of furniture is to be located. The anchor is attached to the wall preferably using a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other equivalent fastener. A second anchor is provided and is attached to the back wall of the piece of furniture with a screw, nail or other suitable fastener. Thereafter, after locating the piece of furniture generally against the house wall and in close proximity where it will ultimately be located, thereby also placing the first and second anchors generally close to one another, a restraint strap is extended between the first and second anchors and is attached thereto thereby essentially restraining or flexibly attaching the piece of furniture to the house wall. The restraint strap is generally elongate and flexible for allowing the final positioning of the piece of furniture as may be desired. The restraint strap is minimized in its length so that, in the event the piece of furniture is inadvertently caused to start tipping, it will provide a force backwardly toward the wall. Because the restraint strap is maintained at a minimum length, the required force backwardly toward the wall to prevent tipping is minimized since it is applied to the furniture before the center of gravity of the furniture reaches the plane after which the furniture will continue tipping or fall over. This required force is further minimized by locating the furniture tipping restraint on the furniture back wall vertically as high as possible. 
     Preferably, the restraint strap is made of flexible nylon or plastic and is adapted to extend through holes in the first and the second anchors. The restraint strap includes a loop clamp whereby, after it is extended through the anchor holes, a first end of the restraint strap is attached to the other end or portion of the restraint strap thereby forming a loop tying together the first and second anchors. The second end of the restraint strap is detachably attachable by the loop clamp so that, if one desires to move the furniture, the restraint strap is merely removed from the anchors thereby freeing the piece of furniture for moving as may be desired. The loop clamp is preferably attachable substantially along any portion of the restraint strap so that the loop length can be varied and minimized. More preferably, the loop clamp includes an aperture wherethrough the second end of the restraint strap is received and pulled through for minimizing the overall loop length. Yet more preferably, the clamping aperture is keyhole shaped having a keyhole slot and the restraint strap second end includes a plurality of beads located in staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap such that, upon threading the restraint strap second end through the keyhole shaped aperture and reaching the desired loop length, the restraint strap is forced into engagement within the keyhole slot so as to be frictionally engaged therein and such that the beads of the restraint strap essentially positively lock the restraint strap in the keyhole slot. For releasing and removing the restraint strap, the restraint strap second end is merely pushed out of the keyhole slot and the strap second end is pulled out of the keyhole shaped aperture thus disrupting the loop and allowing the removal of the restraint strap from the anchors. 
     In a second embodiment, the restraint strap is provided with a securement portion whereby the restraint strap is directly attachable to a wall or a piece of furniture. The securement portion includes a hole for receiving a fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other suitable fastener. An attachment clamp is provided and also has a securement portion for selectively attaching the attachment clamp directly to a wall or piece of furniture. Similarly, the securement portion of the attachment clamp includes a hole for receiving a fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other suitable fastener for thereby attaching the attachment clamp to either a wall or piece of furniture. The restraint strap is selectively attachable to the attachment clamp for thereby essentially attaching the piece of furniture to the wall and restraining it from tipping over and away from the wall. Preferably, the attachment clamp includes an aperture wherethrough the restraint strap is received and is selectively frictionally engaged for detachably attaching the restraint strap to the attachment clamp. Thus, unlike the first embodiment, in this embodiment a loop is not created by the restraint strap but, rather, the restraint strap is merely directly selectively attached to the attachment clamp. More preferably, the attachment clamp aperture is keyhole shaped with a keyhole slot and the restraint strap includes a plurality of beads located in a staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap. 
     In operation, after, for example, the restraint strap is attached to the house wall and the attachment clamp is attached to the back wall of a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers and the chest of drawers is pushed in close proximity to the house wall placing the restraint strap generally close to the attachment clamp, the restraint strap end is threaded through the attachment clamp keyhole shaped aperture for minimizing the length thereof to the attachment clamp and, thereafter, the restraint strap is pushed into and is frictionally engaged in the keyhole slot thereby attaching and locking the restraint strap to the attachment clamp. For moving the furniture, the restraint strap is merely pushed out of frictional engagement from within the keyhole slot and the restraint strap is pulled out of the attachment clamp aperture, thereby freeing the furniture from the house wall and allowing movement thereof as may be desired. Preferably, the restraint strap and securement portion thereof are made of nylon or plastic and are made by injection molding and are integrally formed together. Similarly, the attachment clamp and securement portion thereof are also preferably made of plastic or nylon and are made by injection molding and are integrally formed together. 
     In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to a furniture tipping restraint including a first anchor attachable to a wall and a second anchor attachable to a piece of furniture. A restraint strap is provided and is selectively extendable between the first and second anchors and is attachable thereto whereby the piece of furniture is restrained from tipping away from the wall. 
     In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to a furniture tipping restraint including a restraint strap having a. securement portion which is selectively attachable to a wall or piece of furniture. An attachment clamp having a securement portion is also provided and is selectively attachable to a wall or piece of furniture. The restraint strap is selectively attachable to the attachment clamp whereby the piece of furniture is restrained from tipping away from the wall. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of the embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chest of drawers against a house wall and, wherein, a furniture tipping restraint constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention has been installed between the chest of drawers and house wall; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the chest of drawers and furniture tipping restraint shown in FIG. 1 and, further, showing the furniture tipping restraint preventing the chest of drawers from tipping away from the house wall; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a furniture tipping restraint constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of a restraint strap usable in the furniture tipping restraint embodiment shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a furniture tipping restraint constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of the restraint strap and securement portion of the furniture tipping restraint shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the restraint strap shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of the attachment clamp and securement portion of the furniture tipping restraint shown in FIG. 5; and, 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the attachment clamp and securement portion shown in FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention in one form thereof and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure or the scope of the invention in any manner. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring initially to FIG. 1, a piece of furniture in the form of chest of drawers, generally designated by the numeral  10 , is shown adjacent a house wall  12  and on a floor  14 . The chest of drawers  10 , includes a plurality of drawers  16 , front legs  18 , back legs  20 , a back wall  22 , top  24  and sides  26 . As is most common, the chest of drawers  10  is located and placed adjacent a house wall  12  with the chest of drawers back wall  22  generally adjacent or against the drywall or lath  28  which is supported by wood studs  30 . It is noted that the chest of drawers  10  is depicted herein merely as an exemplary piece of furniture upon which the furniture tipping restraint generally designated by the numeral  32  may be used and that restraint  32  can be used on any piece of furniture which can be located adjacent a house wall  12 . Additionally, house wall  12  made of drywall or lath  28  and wood studs  30  is also merely exemplary and it should be noted that the furniture tipping restraint  32  can be used with any type of wall construction including, for example, concrete blocks, solid wood, etc. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the furniture tipping restraint  32  is attached to and between the chest of drawers back wall  22  and the house wall  12 . In this fashion, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, if the top drawer  16  is pulled out and a force F is applied downwardly thereon such as that which may be applied by a small child hanging thereon, if the chest of drawers  10  starts to tip over by pivoting about the front legs  18 , the furniture tipping restraint  32  effectively holds back the chest of drawers  10  close to the house wall  12  thereby preventing the chest of drawers  10  from completely tipping over onto the floor  14 . The furniture tipping restraint  32  essentially provides an opposing force as indicated by arrow F′ to restrain the chest of drawers  10  from tipping away from the wall  12 . The length of the furniture tipping restraint  32  is minimized and made as short as possible so that the restraining force F′ is applied to the chest of drawers  10  as soon as possible after it starts to tip so as to prevent the center of gravity diagrammatically depicted by arrow C from moving away from the house wall  12  and beyond the chest front legs  18 . In this manner, the restraining force F′ required to prevent tipping is maintained at a minimum for effectively preventing the chest of drawers  10  from tipping over and away from the wall  12 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, a furniture tipping restraint  32  is shown constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and attached to and between a wall  12  and piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers  10 . The furniture tipping restraint  32  includes a first anchor or bracket  34  having a toe portion  36  and ear portion  38 . Preferably, first anchor  34  is made of steel by a stamping process and with the ear portion  38  being bent at an angle from the toe portion  36  as shown. A hole  40  is provided in the toe portion  36  for receiving a screw  42  therethrough and mounting the anchor  34  to the wall  12 . Preferably, screw  42  is sufficiently long and is located for attachment to a wood stud  30 . In the alternative, a drywall or concrete anchor (not shown) can be used in conjunction with screw  42  for attaching the anchor  34  to the wall  12 . The ear portion  38  is also provided with a hole  44  having any desired shape such as elongate as shown or circular. Hole  44 , as more fully discussed hereinbelow, is adapted to receive therethrough the restraint strap  46 . 
     The furniture tipping restraint  32  also includes a second anchor or bracket  48  which is essentially identical to the first anchor  34 . The second anchor  48 , however, is attached via the screw  42  to the back wall  22  of a piece of furniture as best seen in FIG.  3 . 
     The restraint strap  46  shown in FIG. 3 can be similar to commonly available wire ties having a first end  50  and a second end  52 . The restraint strap  46  is preferably made of flexible plastic or nylon by an injection molding process. At the second end  52 , a loop clamp  54  is provided and is integrally formed therewith. Loop clamp  54  includes a clamping aperture  56  wherethrough the first end  50  of the restraint strap  46  is received and retained so as to form a loop as shown. The loop clamp  54  and clamping aperture  56  thus operate to selectively attach and lock in place a portion of the restraint strap so as to form a loop of a desired length. The loop clamp  54  can be of a type which attaches to the restraint strap without allowing detachment or can be of a type which detachably attaches to any portion of the restraint strap  46  for allowing the user to selectively also remove the restraint strap second end from the clamping aperture  56  and opening the loop without having to break the restraint strap  46 . 
     In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a restraint strap  58  is show which is preferably also made of flexible plastic or nylon by an injection molding process. The restraint strap  58  includes a loop clamp  60  having a keyhole shaped clamping aperture  62  including a keyhole slot  64 . Similar to restraint strap  46 , the loop clamp  60  is located at the second end  66  of the restraint strap, whereas the first end  68  is flexible and is selectively inserted through the loop clamp aperture  62 . However, the first end  68  of the restraint strap  58  is formed with a plurality of beads or spheres  70  which are located in staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap intermediate rod shaped sections  72 . It is noted that the sphere shaped or bead portions  70  and the rod sections  72  are injection molded and integrally formed together as shown. 
     In use, the restraint strap  58  is used quite similar to the restraint strap  46 . After the anchors  34  and  38  are attached to the wall  12  and the back wall  22  of the piece of furniture is placed close to the back wall  12  placing the anchors  34  and  48  relatively close to one another, the restraint strap first end  68  is threaded through the holes  44  of both anchors  34  and  48  and the first end  68  is threaded through the keyhole shaped clamping aperture  62  so as to form a loop. After minimizing the overall length of the loop, the restraint strap first end is forced from the clamping aperture  62  toward the keyhole slot  64  thereby forcing a rod shaped section  72  to enter into and become frictionally engaged within the keyhole slot  64 . In this regard, it is noted that the width of the keyhole slot  64  is slightly smaller than the diameter of the rod shaped sections  72  for providing a positive frictional engagement. Additionally, because the beads  70  are located on both sides of the rod shaped section  72 , the first end  68  is positively locked in position generally without possibility that the restraint strap can be pulled out of the keyhole slot unless it is again pushed out therefrom and into the clamping apertures  62 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5-9, a second embodiment of a furniture tipping restraint generally designated by the numeral  74  is shown. Furniture tipping restraint  74  achieves the same result as the furniture tipping restraint  32  of preventing a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers  10  from tipping over and away from a wall  12 . Furniture tipping restraint  74  includes a restraint strap  76  shaped quite similar to the first end  68  of restraint strap  58  and, in this regard, the same numerals  68 ,  70  and  72  are used to designate the restraint strap first end  68 , beads or spheres  70  and the rod shaped sections  72 . At its second end  78 , however, restraint strap  76  is provided with a securement portion  80  for selectively attaching the restraint strap  76  to either the wall  12  or a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers  10 . Preferably, the securement portion  80  includes a frusto-conical shaped hole  82  for receiving a screw or other fastener therethrough and attaching to a wall or piece of furniture in a manner as described hereinabove with respect to anchors  34  and  48 . The securement portion  80  is preferably also made of plastic or nylon and is injection molded along with the first end  68  and is, thus, integrally formed therewith. 
     The furniture tipping restraint  74  further includes an attachment clamp  84  having a securement portion  86  attached thereto via a neck section  88 . Attachment clamp  84  is quite similar to the attachment or loop clamp  60  of FIG.  4  and has a correspondingly similar keyhole shaped clamping aperture  62  and keyhole slot  64 . Additionally, the securement portion  86  is generally similar to the securement portion  80  and includes a frusto-conical hole  82  therethrough for receiving a screw  42  or other fastener for attaching to either the wall  12  or a piece of furniture such as chest of drawers  10 . Preferably, the attachment clamp  84 , neck portion  88 , and securement portion  86  are made of plastic or nylon and are integrally formed and made by injection molding. 
     In operation, the furniture tipping restraint  74  is used by attaching the restraint strap  76  using the securement portion  80  thereof to the wall  12  or chest of drawers  10 . The attachment clamp  84  is then secured using the securement portion  84  thereof to the chest of drawers  10  or wall  12 . The chest of drawers  10  is then brought in close proximity to the wall  12  placing the attachment clamp  84  close to the restraint strap  76 . The restraint strap  76  is then threaded through the clamping aperture  62  minimizing the length thereof and the restraint strap  76  is pushed into the keyhole slot  64  for causing one of the rod shaped sections  72  to be frictionally engaged within the keyhole slot  64  with beads  70  adjacent thereto located on either side of the attachment clamp  84 . In this fashion, the restraint strap  76  is generally positively locked in the position as shown in FIG. 5 for thereby also preventing the chest of drawers  10  or other piece of furniture from being tipped over and away from the wall  12 . When desired, the restraint strap  76  can be merely pushed out of the keyhole slot  64  and into the clamping aperture  62  for threading out and removing the restraint strap  76  from the attachment clamp  84  thereby freeing the piece of furniture  10  for moving away from the wall  12  as may be desired. 
     While the invention has been described as having specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications. This application is, therefore, intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and fall within the limits of the appended claims.