Abstract:
A tabletop has a plurality of panels connected by rope-type connections and pole-shaped legs that can be folded up by way of links. Bars with grooves are provided to maintain the tabletop panels in an outstretched position. Connectors provided on the legs and connectors provided on the panels both engage the grooves on the bars such that the legs are properly positioned with respect to the panels of the tabletop.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a foldable table whose legs and tabletop can be removed or installed freely. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Conventionally, it has been desired that tables used for outdoor activities or outdoor work be compact for easy storage, lightweight, so that they can be conveniently carried, and be easy to assemble. So, there are tables which have been constructed such that the legs and tabletop can be separated and that the separated legs or tabletop can be folded. There is technology where the removable tabletop is constructed with several panels that are connected together with a rope-type connection such that it could be freely folded, where bars are installed underneath the tabletop to keep it flat, and where the legs are installed to those bars. 
     However, there is the problem that to assemble the separated legs and tabletop required much time and work, so that a table that could be easily assembled is desired. 
     For example, in Japanese Patent Disclosure Tokukai 11ci 11-19639, there is a table having a tabletop that can be folded by way of a rope-type connection, including support bars for securing the tabletop so that it is flat, and foldable legs, and where there is a connection means on both the tabletop and legs, the connection means having arc-shaped elastic support pieces that are more than semi-circular in which the support bars can be inserted, such that the table can be erected by arranging the support bars. Moreover, protruding sections are formed on the tabletop and legs such that they can be inserted into holes that are formed in the support bars. 
     However, with the table described above, the support bars are formed in a cylindrical shape, and since there are insertion holes on the bars, the tabletop and legs must be installed in a direction corresponding to the holes, and this causes the problem to require time to position the support bars, which makes assembly very troublesome. 
     In addition, in order for the table of the prior art to have foldable legs, the four cylindrical legs are constructed such that adjacent legs are connected with each other by links. Since the end of the links are formed such that they slide and move with respect to cylindrical legs, there was the problem that the tabletop would rock even if the four links that formed to make a rectangle in a plane are deformed into a parellelogram shape. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The first objective of this invention is to provide a table that can be erected easily and which will do away with the troublesome work of both assembling the tabletop and bars, and assembling the bars and legs. 
     The second objective of this invention is to provide a table that has minimum rocking. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the table of this invention as seen from below. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the folded tabletop. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connector. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of part of a bar. 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a bar connected to the leg structure as seen from below. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the installed tabletop as seen from below. 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the bar of another embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the bar of yet another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The table of this invention is a foldable table comprising a tabletop, square pole-shaped bars with grooves formed thereon, and a leg structure. 
     The tabletop has first connectors which are attached to one surface of the tabletop. 
     The leg structure has second connectors which are attached to the top end of each of the legs of the leg structure. The first and second connectors comprise a base having a installation means, and two elastic support pieces that extend from the base such that both of the elastic support pieces are bent in such a way that the tips face each other and such that they can fit together in the corresponding one of the grooves formed on the bars. 
     In one form of the foldable table of this invention, there are two such bars, and the aforementioned tabletop comprises several panels that are connected together with a rope-type method of connection such that the tabletop can fold freely, and the aforementioned leg structure comprises four square pole shaped legs that are linked together such that can be folded. 
     Two grooves are formed on the bars with a space between them that matches the spacing between the first connectors that are installed on the rear surface of the panels on both ends of the tabletop, and two grooves are formed on the bars with a space between them that matches the spacing between the second connectors on the top ends of the legs. 
     It is also possible for the grooves on the bars to be a hollow space between two protruding sections. 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the table of this invention as seen from below. FIGS. 2 thru  4  are enlarged view of each of the components. FIG.  5  and FIG. 6 are enlarged partial views that show the method of assembly. 
     The table of this invention comprises a tabletop  10 , two bars  21  and a leg structure  30 . 
     As shown in side view of the folded tabletop of FIG. 2, the tabletop comprises a plurality of panels  11  ( 13  panels in the example shown in the figure) that are linked together by a rope-type connection method  13  such that the tabletop can be freely folded, and there are two connectors  1  located on the rear surface of the panels  11  at either end. The panels  11  has a flat surface and can be made of aluminum, wood, plastic or the like. In the case that they are made of aluminum, they are tubular, and the center is hollow in order to reduce the weight. Spacers  12  are placed between the panels  11  and the rope connection means  13  extends through them. With the spacers  12 , there is no contact between panels  11  when the tabletop  10  is open as shown in FIG. 1, thus improving durability and handling. The connectors  1  are attached to the panels  11  with rivets  3 , however, they can also be attached with other known technology. 
     As shown in the pictorial view of FIG. 3, the aforementioned connectors  1  have through holes  1   a  formed in them for installation, and there are two elastic support pieces  1   b  that are bent such that tips  1   c  face each other. The connectors  1  may be made of plastic or metal. The connectors  1  are attached with rivets or screws that are passed through the through holes  1   a,  and, as shown in the figure, there are legs  1   d  that are formed on the bottom. The panels  11  to which the connectors  1  are attached have holes for the legs  1   d  to fit into, so that positioning the connectors  1  becomes easy. 
     The leg structure  30  is assembled such that the square pole-shaped legs  31  can fold together by links  32 , and at the top end of each of the legs  31  there is a connector  2  The legs  31  and links  32  is made of aluminum for lightweight, but can be made of wood or steal. 
     The connector  2  comprises a base section which has a square hole in which a leg  31  is inserted and secured, and to which links  32  are attached such that they can rotated freely (see FIG.  5 ), and two elastic support pieces have tips that are bent in a direction such that the tips face each other. The connection between the connector  2  and bar  21  is the same as the aforementioned connection with the connector  1 . The connectors  2  can be made of plastic or metal. 
     Attached to one end of the links  32  a fastener  34  which is fastened to one end of the leg  31 , and attached to the other end of the links  32  is a sliding member  33  which fits around the leg  31 . By sliding the sliding member  33  along the leg  31 , it is possible for the leg structure to change between the folded state and the opened state. Moreover, the sliding of the sliding member  33  can be controlled by forming a stopper (not shown in the figure) on the leg  31 . In addition, a rubber or plastic cap  35  can be attached to the end of the leg  31  that comes in contact with the ground. Since the leg  31  is a square post, the sliding member  33  does not rotate with respect to the leg  31 . Furthermore, since the links  32  maintain the tabletop in a right-angled rectangle in a plane, it is possible to keep rocking of the tabletop to a minimum. 
     An enlarged pictorial view of the end of a bar  21  is shown in FIG.  4 . The bar  21  is the same length as the width of the aforementioned tabletop  10  when opened, and the other end is also shaped the same as that shown in FIG.  4 . 
     The bar is formed in a square pole-shape with rounded corners, and it comprises two grooves  21   a  which fit with the elastic support pieces  1   b  of the aforementioned connector  1 , and two grooves  21   b  which fits with the elastic support pieces of the aforementioned connector  2 . The bar  21  is made of aluminum, for example, and rubber or plastic caps  22  (see FIG. 1) are attached to the ends. 
     The method of assembly of the table of this invention is explained based on FIG.  5  and FIG.  6 . 
     First, the links  32  of the leg structure are transformed such that the four legs  31  are standing. There are connectors  2  on the top ends of the legs  31 , so that the grooves  21   b  on the bars  21  are inserted into the elastic support pieces of the connectors  2 . 
     When doing this, since the elastic support pieces are bent in a direction such that the tips face each other, so the bar  21  is inserted by opening the elastic support pieces. Once the bar  21  has been fitted into the connectors  2 , it is not easily separated, and is securely fastened so that it does not slide. In addition, since the grooves  21   b  formed on the bar  21  are formed symmetrically on all four surfaces, so the bar  21  can fit easily in the connectors  2  without paying attention to the direction of the bar  21  faces. 
     After the two bars  21  have been attached to the leg structure such that they are parallel, the four connectors  1  that are attached to the rear surface of the panels  11  of tabletop are fitted with the grooves  21   a  on the bars  21  as shown in FIG.  6 . to complete assembly of the table. 
     An enlarged partial pictorial view of another bar  21  is shown in FIG.  7 . This bar differs from that previously described in that the grooves  21   a,    21   b  are formed only on two surfaces. It is also possible to form them on only one surface. The bar  21  of this example is easy to manufacture and can be manufactured at low cost. 
     Furthermore, FIG. 8 shows an enlarged partial pictorial view of yet another bar  21 . The bar of this example differs from that of the previous example in which the surfaces of the bar  21  are depressed. In this example, the corners of the bar  21  are depressed planar to form grooves  21   a,    21   b.  The connectors that fit these grooves are formed such that the shape of their cross-sections match the grooves. The grooves  21   a,    21   b  are flat and oblique with reference to the direction where the bar  21  can be attached to or removed from the connectors, so the elastic support pieces of the connectors transform smoothly and connection is made with no problems. 
     The bars of these embodiments as shown in the figures are formed in a square pole-shape posts, however they can be round posts, triangular posts or hexagonal posts. 
     With square pole-shaped bars, it is possible to assemble the table without paying attention to the direction of the bar with respect to the tabletop or leg structure by forming grooves on the bars that correspond to the connectors. 
     Furthermore, it is possible for the grooves formed on the bars to be hollow sections between two protruding sections. The protruding sections are formed by processing the bar or attaching screws, fittings, etc. thereon. 
     The present invention is not limited to the examples shown in the figures used for explanation. 
     With the table of this invention, grooves are formed on square pole-shaped bars such that they can fit from various directions, therefore assembly of the tabletop and the bars, and assembly of the bars and leg structure can be performed easily without trouble. 
     Moreover, since the legs are formed in a square pole-shape, it is possible to keep the table stable and keep rocking to a minimum.