Patent ID: 8181581

Claim:
Furniture comprising a plurality of modules which interlock to form the furniture, each module being substantially identical in size and shape and comprising: a support surface having a thickness and predetermined width; at least three legs attached to the surface and extending therefrom in the same direction, with: a first leg arrangement placed adjacent a first edge of the surface and having a thickness, outside edges and a predetermined width terminating at the outside edges; and a second leg arrangement of at least two second legs placed adjacent a second edge of the surface that is opposite to the first surface edge, with the two legs each having a thickness and an inside edge, with the two second legs spaced apart by a distance that is substantially equal to the predetermined width of the first leg arrangement, wherein the outside edges of the first leg arrangement are configured for parallel alignment with the inside edges of the second legs to facilitate interlocking of the at least two second legs of one module around the first leg arrangement of another module to form a load bearing structure; wherein the first leg arrangement is spaced apart from the at least two second legs by a predetermined distance that is substantially the same as or greater than the width of the supporting surface to facilitate compact stacking of the modules for storage thereof; and wherein the leg arrangements are configured in such a way as to make it equally possible, no matter which surface a first module rests upon, to interlock the two legs of the second leg arrangement of one module with the first leg arrangement of a second module in any of the following ways beginning with the first and second modules each resting on the same surface and with: (a) the second module situated adjacent to the first module in the direction of the first module's second leg arrangement with the first leg arrangement of the first module disposed adjacent the inside edges of the two second legs to form a bench, (b) the second module rotated 180 ° about an axis extending perpendicular to the surface of its first leg arrangement and situated adjacent to the first module in the direction of the first module's second leg arrangement to form a component of a shelving unit, or (c) the second module rotated 180 ° about an axis extending perpendicular to the primary support surface and situated adjacent to the first module in the direction of the first module's primary support element to form a stacking unit.