Abstract:
The present invention provides an expandable and collapsible table for use with a miter saw or for recreational use. A support structure includes a truss that is expandable and collapsible in the horizontal direction. A pair of expansion leaves are pivotally connected to opposing sides of the support structure. A support arm and extension arm work in combination with a locking mechanism to maintain the expansion leaves in the horizontal position or alternatively to allow the expansion leaves to collapse to a vertical position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Technical Field  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to the field of collapsible and portable table assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to a collapsible table assembly configured for use with miter saws and the like.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     A collapsible table allows for easy storage and portability of a table in a collapsed configuration, and easy assembly of the table when occasioned for use.  
         [0005]     A typical utility table is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,404 to Stanford wherein a pair of foldable legs are pivotally connected to the underside of the table top surface. The portability of such tables is limited, due to the bulk of the table top surface.  
         [0006]     In order to improve the portability of collapsible tables, and decrease the bulk, a collapsible truss framework has been used in conjunction with a foldable table top, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,127 to Carter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,546 to Carter and U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,962 to Johanson. A problem with collapsible trusses, is that the size of a table top utilizing a collapsible truss is limited by the length of the truss arms. More specifically, the length of the truss arms are limited by the height of the table.  
         [0007]     Additional table top space can be made available through the use of side leaves that extend from a center table top leaf. Although lacking a collapsible truss framework, U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,147 to Schulte et al. discloses side leaves that are supported by a pivotal support structure having a horizontal component for contacting the underside of the leaves, and a vertical component for supporting the leaves. These support structures are rather bulky, and may present, for example, a tripping hazard to users of the table.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides an expandable and collapsible table, such as for use with a miter saw, or for recreational use.  
         [0009]     In an expanded configuration, a truss is expanded in the horizontal direction to provide a support structure for receiving a center table top surface. A pair of side leaves are pivotally connected to opposing sides of the support structure and are extended to a horizontal position. The side leaves are maintained in the expanded configuration by a support arm pivotally connected at opposing ends to a lower portion of the support structure and to an extension arm. The extension arm is pivotally connected at opposing ends to the support arm and to the expansion leaf. A locking mechanism maintains the support arm and extension arm in axial alignment, to provide an angled support for the expansion leaf.  
         [0010]     The locking mechanism includes a pin extending from the support arm that is received within a slot in the extension arm. The locking mechanism is disabled by sliding the extension arm away from the support arm such that the pin engages the near end of the slot, with respect to the support arm. A transverse force will then cause the support arm and extension arm to pivot at the locking joint. An aperture in a portion of the support arm allows the extension arm the freedom to pivot from an axially aligned position to a substantially parallel position, with respect to the support arm.  
         [0011]     In a collapsed configuration, the support arm and extension arm are substantially vertical, allowing the corresponding expansion leaf to pivot from the horizontal position to a vertical position. The center table top is removed from the support structure and the truss is collapsed in the horizontal direction, allowing the expandable and collapsible table to be easily transported and stored when not in use. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention in an expanded configuration.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a detail perspective taken from the area circled at  2  from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a portion of the invention from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a detail perspective of the area shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a detail perspective of the area shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of the portion shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of a portion of the invention from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the invention from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of a portion of the invention from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a fragmentary perspective of one side in the collapsed configuration of the invention from  FIG. 1 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the collapsed configuration of the invention from  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  illustrates a collapsible table  10  having a support frame  12 , a pair of expansion leaves  14  pivotally connected to opposing sides of the support frame  12 , and a locking mechanism  16  for selectively maintaining the expansion leaves  14  in an expanded configuration  18 .  
         [0024]     In  FIG. 1 , the collapsible table  10  is shown in an expanded configuration  18  wherein the support structure  12  is expanded horizontally by a configurable truss  20 . The expansion leaves  14  extend horizontally from opposing sides  22 ,  24  of the support structure  12 . The locking mechanism  16  extends from the support frame  12  to the expansion leaf  14  to maintain the expansion leaf  14  in the expanded configuration  18 . Each leaf  14  is supported by a locking mechanism  16  for maintaining a support arm  26  in axial alignment with a corresponding extension arm  28 , to support the leaf  14 .  
         [0025]     In  FIG. 10 , the collapsible table  10  is shown in a collapsed configuration  30  wherein the support structure  12  is collapsed horizontally about the configurable truss  20 . The expansion leaves  14  are pivoted to extend vertically from opposing sides  22 ,  24  of the support structure  12 .  
         [0026]     The locking mechanism  16  is folded at a pivotable junction  32  between the support arm  28  and extension arm  28  such that the support arm  26  and extension arm  28  are substantially vertical. A stop bar  34  extends from the support structure  12  for maintaining the support arm  26  and extension arm  28  in the vertical position.  
         [0027]     The locking mechanism  16  is shown in detail in  FIGS. 2-8 . Each locking mechanism  16  has a support arm  26  pivotally connected to the support structure  12 , and an extension arm  28  pivotally connected at opposing ends  36 ,  38  to the support arm  26  and the expansion leaf  14 , respectively. The pivotable junction  32  is formed where the support arm  26  is pivotally connected to the extension arm  28 . The extension arm  28  has a slot  40  configured to slidably receive a pin  42  that extends from the support arm  26 . The pin  42  cooperates with the support arm  26  to maintain the extension arm  28  in axial alignment with the support arm  26 , when in the expanded configuration  18 .  
         [0028]     The locking mechanism  16  allows the expansion leaves  14  to be expanded to a horizontal position  44  or collapsed to a vertical position  46 . The support arm  26  is pivotally connected at a first end  48  to a lower portion  52  of the support frame  12 , on a lower cross bar  54  on the side  22  or  24  of the support frame  12 . The support arm  26  extends to a second end  50  that is pivotally connected to a first end  36  of the extension arm  28 . The extension arm  28  is pivotally connected at a second end  38  to the underside  56  of the expansion leaf  14 . A locking joint  32  is formed where the extension arm  28  is pivotally connected to the support arm  26 .  
         [0029]     The first end  36  of the extension arm  28  has a slot  40  for receiving a pin  42  that extends from the second end  50  of the support arm  42 . In the extended configuration  18 , the pin  42  and support arm  26  cooperate to maintain the extension arm  28  in axial alignment with the support arm  26 . The slot  40  has an outer, locking end  58 , and an inner, pivoting end  60 . When the pin  42  engages the outer end  58  of the slot  40 , the extension arm  28  slides into a channel  62  in the support arm  26  such that the bottom  64  of the channel  62  engages the extension arm  28 . When the pin  42  slides within the slot  40  to the inner, pivoting edge  60 , such as by sliding the extension arm  28  away from the support arm  26  along the axis of alignment, the extension arm  28  is able to pivot about the pin  42  with respect to the support arm  26 , toward a collapsed configuration  30 .  
         [0030]     The channel  62  of the support arm  26  is configured such that, in the extended configuration, the channel  62  faces away from the support structure  12 . The first end  36  of the extension arm  28  is received within the channel  62 . An aperture  66  is defined by a portion of the bottom  64  of the channel  62 . A brace  68  is positioned at the second end  50  of the support arm  26  so as to prevent the pivoting of the pivot point  32  in a direction away from the support structure  12  beyond the axial alignment of the support arm  26  and extension arm  28 .  
         [0031]     The aperture  66  allows the extension arm  28  to pivot within the channel  62  when moved to a collapsed configuration  30 . The extension arm  28  is slid away from the support arm  26  such that the pin  42  engages the pivot end  60  of the slot  40 . A force F may then be applied to the pivot area  32  to bend the pivot area  32  and move the pivot area  32  toward the support structure  12 . As the pivot area  32  moves toward the support structure  12 , the second end  50  of the support arm  26  moves toward the stop bar  34 , with the first end  36  of the extension arm  28 . The second end  38  of the extension arm  26  moves downwardly with the outer end  70  of the expansion leaf  14 .  
         [0032]     The support structure  12  includes four upright members  72 ,  74 , a front pair  72  and a rear pair  74 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , a configurable truss  20 ,  21  extends between the front pair  72 , and identically between the rear pair  74  of upright members. The configurable truss  20 ,  21  has two crossing arms  76 . Each crossing arm extends angularly from a first upright member  72 ,  74  to a second upright member  72 ,  74 . The two crossing arms  76  are pivotally connected to each other by a pin  78 , forming a pivot point, between the pair of upright members  72 ,  74 . The pin  78  extends from the front configurable truss  20  to the rear configurable truss  21  so as to maintain the trusses  20 ,  21  in a mirrored relationship.  
         [0033]     Each crossing arm  76  has one end  80  that is pivotally fixed to a portion of an upright member  72 ,  74 , and another end  82  that is slidably extendible along the vertical length of the upright member  72 ,  74 . The sliding end  82  is slidably connected to the upright member  72 ,  74  by a guide member  84  that extends into a channel  86  within the upright members  72 ,  74 . A stopper  88  is positioned within the channel  86  to limit the upward and downward distance that the crossing arm  76  can extend along the length of the upright member  72 ,  74 .  
         [0034]     As shown, the lower end  90  of the crossing arms  76  are fixed to the lower portion  52  of the upright members  72 ,  74  and the upper end  94  of the crossing arms  76  are able to slide along the vertical length of the upright members  72 ,  74 . The configurable truss  20 ,  21  is able to extend in the horizontal direction wherein the upper end  94  of the crossing arms  76  will slide downwardly along the vertical length of the upright member  72 ,  74 . Conversely, the configurable truss  20 ,  21  is able to collapse in the vertical direction wherein the upper end  94  of each of the crossing arms  76  will slide upwardly along the vertical length of the upright member  72 ,  74 .  
         [0035]     The support structure  12  has crossing bars  54 ,  96  extending from the front pair of upright members  72  to the rear pair of upright members  74  such that the crossing bars  54 ,  96  are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the configurable trusses  20 ,  21 .  
         [0036]     As shown, there is an upper crossing bar  96  and a lower crossing bar  54  that extends from each of the front upright members  72  to a corresponding rear upright member  74 .  
         [0037]     A stop bar  34  extends vertically downwardly from each of the upper crossbars  96 . The stop bar  34  is able to engage the support arm  26  when in the collapsed configuration  30  to prevent pivoting of the support arm  26  in the direction of the stop bar  34 , wherein the support arm  26  abuts against the stop bar  34 .  
         [0038]     The expansion leaves  14  are pivotally connected to opposing ends  22 ,  24  of the support structure  12 . A front portion  98  of the expansion leaf  14  is pivotally connected to a top portion  92  of the front upright member  72  and a rear portion  100  of the expansion leaf  14  is pivotally connected to a top portion  92  of the rear upright member  74 . The expansion leaves  14  have a generally planar top surface and are extendible from a collapsed configuration  30  wherein the expansion leaves  14  are substantially in a vertical position and an expanded configuration  18  wherein the expansion leaves  14  are in a substantially horizontal position.  
         [0039]     Each of the upright members  72 ,  74  of the support structure  12  may alternatively have wheels  102 , or instead may have terminating ends  104 .  
         [0040]     A removable center table piece  106  is configured to be received over the support structure  12 . The table piece  106  has two pairs of recesses  108 ,  110 , each pair of recesses  108 ,  110  for receiving one of the crossing bars  96 . The table piece  106  has a generally planar top surface  112 . The table piece  106  is maintained over the support structure  12  by the fitting of the recesses  108 ,  110  over the corresponding crossing bars  96 . The table piece  106  maintains the configurable truss  20 ,  21  in the expanded configuration  18 .  
         [0041]     In the expanded configuration  18 , the vertical height of the removable table piece  106  is lower than the vertical height of the expansion leaves  14 . It is contemplated that the table piece  106  is configured as a working table, such as for maintaining a miter saw thereon. Alternatively, the table may be used for recreation.  
         [0042]     The table piece  106  may be removed by lifting it upwardly from position over the crossing bars  96 .