Furniture line comprised of a system

Abstract

A furniture line comprised of a system of furniture manufacturing including, but not limited to tables and table-desks that are produced by skilled and unskilled labor with minimal supervision whereby adhesives are utilized in lieu of mechanical fasteners or connectors to produce an unlimited number of furniture models in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components wherein the underside of every tabletop is configured to nest with the tops of one or more corresponding foam-core pedestals having one or more recessed bases and the perimeters of the recessed areas of the tabletops and the edges of the pedestal tops parallel and abut each other thereby facilitating nesting and wherein every table top may be installed without tools.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application 60/830,318 filed Jul. 12, 2006 by the present inventor.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The current art invention identified in the title above relates to a furniture line comprising a system including, but not limited to Tables and Table-Desks.

2. Prior Art

Assertion

No prior art furniture line has demonstrated means whereby a furniture manufacturing system has been developed to utilize a method of furniture construction whereby the entire furniture line utilizes adhesives in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connectors and wherein the furniture line is further comprised of unlimited numbers of models in unlimited sizes, shapes, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components and every top nests on one or more foam-ore pedestals having one or more recessed bases along one or more sides of the pedestals and every top may be installed and relocated without the need of tools, all as described in the current art wherein all of the following apply:

Object

The object of the invention is to provide a contemporary furniture line comprised of a system that simplifies manufacturing by reducing the numbers and types of tools and machines required to produce finished products, decreases production time and manufacturing costs, thereby increasing potential profits by providing the following:

• • 1. adhesives are utilized in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connectors, thereby increasing strength and reducing manufacturing time as well as reducing costs of manufacture due to total full-bed adhesive contact between components;
  • 2. tabletops are supported by one or more pedestals in lieu of table legs or panels, thereby reducing the number of parts, simplifying assembly, improving the process of production and reducing time and costs required in the manufacturing of the products;
  • 3. the same basic types of components and features as shown in the drawings are present in every furniture model in the line without limiting the number of variations available in sizes, shapes, materials and finishes, therefore simplifying the manufacturing, production and assembly processes;
  • 4. the underside of each tabletop has one or more recessed areas and the perimeters of the recessed areas parallel and abut the edges of the tops of corresponding pedestals, thereby simplifying and facilitating nesting;
  • 5. technical fasteners and connectors are not required to hold the tabletops in place and said tabletops are removable from one or more pedestals without use of a tool, thereby simplifying relocation of the tables and table-desks;
  • 6. pedestals are comprised of a foam core with integral recessed bases along one or more sides of the pedestals and the exterior surfaces of the foam core pedestals may be comprised of, but not limited to unfinished, coated, laminated, upholstered or clad surfacing materials;
  • 7. tabletops are nested with the tops of corresponding pedestals, thereby resisting rotational and horizontal movement and vertical movement is resisted due to the effect of gravity; and
  • 8. tabletops may be installed in place in the field without the use of tools, thereby reducing the time and costs associated with installation.

Advantages

• • 1. The furniture line is comprised of articles of manufacture that may be pre-finished components sized, shaped and cut to order according to the requirements of each furniture model, said components not necessarily being produced in-house;
  • 2. The furniture line provides a method of production whereby the components are manufactured and assembled utilizing adhesives in full-bed, total coverage contact between components in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connectors, thereby increasing strength in the finished product and reducing the need of labor intensive hand tools as well as reducing production time and manufacturing costs;
  • 3. The furniture line provides a method of assembly of components whereby unskilled laborers may be utilized in lieu of skilled mechanics, thereby reducing costs of manufacture while simultaneously providing fulltime and part time employment to persons who might otherwise be unemployed.
  • 4. The furniture line provides an unlimited number of product models in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes while utilizing the same conceptual relationships between components as shown in the drawings, whereby the tabletops nest on pedestals in such manner that no tools are required to install or remove the tabletops;
  • 5. Every furniture model in the furniture line including, but not limited to tables and table-desks are comprised of a top and at least one pedestal that has a foam core with integral recessed bases along one or more sides of the pedestals;
  • 6. The surfaces of each foam pedestal may be unfinished, coated, laminated, upholstered or clad, thereby providing unlimited variations within the furniture line;
  • 7. Each tabletop, when nested with the top of one or more corresponding pedestals resists rotational and horizontal movement and each tabletop resists vertical movement due to the effect of gravity, thereby holding tabletops in place; and
  • 8. Every model in the furniture line may be installed without the use of tools, thereby reducing time and costs of installation.

SUMMARY

The current art is a furniture line comprised of a system of manufacture and is further comprised of furniture models including, but not limited to pre-finished components that may be assembled by unskilled labor with minimal supervision whereby adhesives are utilized in lieu of fasteners and connectors to produce a furniture line that is comprised of an unlimited number of furniture models including, but not limited to tables and table-desks in unlimited variations of size, shapes, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components wherein every furniture model top nests on one or more foam-re pedestals with one or more integral recessed bases along the bottom of each pedestal and every top may be installed and removed without the need of tools.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings are for illustrative purposes only and do not in any way limit the variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes utilized within the furniture line or the means, methods and systems of production and manufacture available within the full and broadest scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a section through a single-ply planar tabletop (2) showing recessed areas (4) in the underside of the top.

FIG. 2 is a section through a laminated double-ply planar tabletop (6) showing recessed areas (8) in the underside of the top.

FIG. 3 is a section through a double-ply tabletop (10) and a foam-core pedestal (12) with a recessed area in the underside of the tabletop (14) and recessed integral bases (16) along one or more sides of the pedestal.

FIG. 4 is an elevation of one side of a table showing a single-ply tabletop (18) nested on the top of a pedestal (20) with integral recessed bases (22) along one or more sides of the pedestal.

FIG. 5 is an elevation of a laminated double-ply tabletop (24) nested on three foam-core pedestals (26) (28) (30) with recessed integral bases (32) (34) (36) along one or more sides of each pedestal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Statutory Class

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary—Tenth Edition defines, among other definitions, ‘furniture’ as “equipment that is necessary, useful, or desirable” and defines, among many other definitions, ‘line’ as “an arrangement of operations in manufacturing” and “merchandise or services of the same general class”, therefore suggesting that furniture is an article of manufacture; however ‘manufacture’ is a process (method).

Further, ‘Webster’ defines ‘composition’ as a “product of mixing or combining various elements or ingredients”, “an intellectual creation” and “the operation of forming a composite function”; all of which appear to have merit relative to this application.

Utility

As noted above, furniture is “equipment that is necessary, useful, or desirable”.

Novelty

The current art is comprised of a system of manufacture that provides a method of construction and production whereby all components are manufactured and assembled utilizing adhesives in full-bed, total coverage contact between components in lieu of any mechanical fasteners or connectors, thereby increasing product physical strength and speeding the process of manufacture and assembly; no other furniture line is comprised of the above stated system.

Additionally, every furniture model in the furniture line is comprised of a top that nests on at least one pedestal that has a foam core with integral recessed bases along one or more sides of the pedestal(s), thereby increasing product physical strength and eliminating internal framing as well as racking normally associated with furniture;

The furniture line also provides means whereby an unlimited number of product models in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes utilize the same conceptual relationships between components as shown in the drawings, thereby providing uniformity and consistency within the furniture line;

The underside of each tabletop has one or more recessed areas that nest with the tops of corresponding pedestals and the perimeters of the recessed areas of the tops are parallel to the top edges of corresponding pedestals, thereby restricting horizontal and rotational movement and tabletops and table-desk tops are removable from one or more pedestals without use of a tool, thereby simplifying installation and relocation of the tables.

Un-Obviousness

In order for the current art to be obvious, a person would have to image a furniture line of tables and table-desks that would utilize full-bed total-coverage adhesives in lieu of mechanical fasteners or connectors coupled with table tops that have recessed areas on the underside of said tops that would nest only on one or more form-core pedestals having one or more recessed bases and that have table tops that may be installed and removed without the use of a tool and that would provide means whereby each and every model in the furniture line would utilize the same conceptual relationships between components without limiting the number of product models or the number of variations of sizes, shapes, forms, materials and finishes that would be available to be utilized within the furniture line.

Furthermore, if obvious, all of the above in combination as defined and delineated in this non-provisional patent application would now be prior art.

Unexpected Results

Utilization of adhesives in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connecters increases speed of manufacture and assembly and decreases the use of hand tools as expected; however, reduction in costs of hand tools, their repair and reduced electrical power costs are unexpected advantages;

Utilization of unskilled labor and minimized supervision were not expected to provide full-time and part-time employment for persons that might otherwise be unemployed;

Foam-core pedestals with recessed integral bases were expected to eliminate steps that are normal to the manufacture of conventional pedestals and recessed bases; however, improving the strength of the pedestals and bases while simultaneously speeding fabrication, thus reducing manufacturing costs were unexpected;

Foam-core pedestals with recessed bases combined with laminated surface materials set with full-bed total-coverage adhesives provides numerous manufacturing advantages; however, the solution of the long known problem of racking normally associated with conventional furniture was not to be expected;

Recessed areas in the underside of tops provide means and advantage, whereby tops and pedestals may be installed without the use of tools; however, automatic alignment of tops with multiple pedestals was unexpected.

Omission of Elements

The current art provides omission of not less than eight independent elements normal to the manufacture of furniture as listed below:

• • 1. Elimination of table legs as support for tabletops;
  • 2. Elimination of panels as support for tabletops;
  • 3. Elimination of mechanical fasteners and connectors;
  • 4. Elimination of internal framework in pedestals and bases;
  • 5. Elimination of hand tools of assembly;
  • 6. Elimination of hand tools of installation;
  • 7. Elimination of racking that is normal to prior art furniture; and
  • 8. Elimination of the need to hold tops in place by mechanical means.

Simplification and Usefulness

The current art simplifies numerous aspects of the construction of furniture within the furniture line including, but not limited to:

• • 1. Simplification of manufacturing and assembly by utilization of adhesives in lieu of fasteners and connectors;
  • 2. Simplification by reduction of the number of parts by utilization of foam-core pedestals with recessed bases;
  • 3. Simplification of installation by nesting tops upon pedestals by utilizing recesses located in the underside of tabletops; and
  • 4. Simplification of processes by reduction in the use of hand tools in manufacturing, assembly and installation.

Physical Structure

Tables and table-desks are physically static, whereof they have no moving parts and historically the tops are physically secured to legs, panels and pedestals with mechanical fasteners and connecters as means of support.

The furniture described in the current art is comprised of tabletops that are supported only by foam-core pedestals with one or more recessed integral bases.

Additionally, no table tops within the current art furniture line requires mechanical fasteners or connectors.

Assembly and Production

Tabletops are homogenous or otherwise planar single or multi-layered components that are sized, shaped and finished in-house or otherwise to meet the requirements of each furniture model within the furniture line and they are known, used and readily available all over the world, therefore no further description as to construction of said tabletops is necessary to the prosecution of this patent application.

Pedestals utilized within the current art furniture line are comprised of a foam core cut, sized and shaped in-house or otherwise by a hot-wire device known, utilized and readily available all over the world and that is operated by persons “having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains”.

Said pedestals may receive single or multiple laminated surfacing materials applied with adhesives by skilled or unskilled labor on one or more of the pedestal's foam surfaces for the purpose of increasing the strength of the pedestal and meeting the requirements of the furniture model that is being constructed.

Summarily, it should be noted that the processes of assemble and production (manufacture) utilized within the current art furniture line are simplistic when compared with prior art and are superior to prior art furniture manufacture.

Conclusion

The current art invention is a furniture line developed as:

• • 1. A System, whereby a conceptual basis is ascribed to and maintained for the purpose of providing uniformity, consistency and the ability of producing a furniture line wherein furniture models including, but not limited to tables and table-desks are of higher quality and are manufactured more efficiently and at less cost than those produced by prior art;
  • 2. A process, whereby unnecessary elements of prior art are eliminated and manufacture is operationally more efficient and simplified as compared to prior art; and
  • 3. A means, whereby the current art provides a significant change in components that hold and secure items of manufacture together, thereby providing greater strength and benefits than those provided by prior art

Preferred Embodiment

The preferred embodiment is the current art furniture line defined and described herein being comprised of a system of manufacture, production, assembly and installation of furniture wherein all furniture models including, but not limited to Tables and Table-desks utilize adhesives in lieu of fasteners and connectors to produce an unlimited number of furniture models in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components, wherein every furniture model top nests on one or more foam-core pedestals with one or more integral recessed bases, every top extends beyond the perimeter of the pedestal(s) and every top may be installed or relocated without the need of tools.

Additional Embodiment

An additional embodiment is the furniture line described above including furniture casework, but not limited to Desks, Pedestals, Occasional and Coffee Tables, Credenzas, File Cabinets and Storage Cabinets, wherein each such furniture model utilizes adhesives in lieu of fasteners and connectors to produce casework shells in an unlimited number of furniture models and in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, forms, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components, wherein every furniture model top nests on a foam-core pedestal or casework shell with one or more integral recessed bases, every top edge is flush with the perimeter edge of the pedestal or shell and every top is laminated to the top of the pedestal or shell.

Additional Embodiment

An additional embodiment is the furniture line described above including, but not limited to free-standing pedestals, wherein each such furniture model utilizes adhesives in lieu of fasteners and connectors to produce an unlimited number of furniture models in unlimited variations of sizes, shapes, materials and finishes while maintaining a conceptual basis of relationships between components, wherein every furniture model top nests on a foam-core pedestal with one or more integral recessed bases, every top edge is flush with the perimeter edge of the pedestal and every top is laminated to the top of the pedestal.

More embodiments are probable as time presents additional possibilities.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. A furniture line comprising a system of manufacture and production that utilizes adhesives in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connectors, said adhesives also securing planar components together in the construction of laminated tabletops and laminated surface materials to pre-cured foam-core pedestals; said tabletops comprising single or more planar components having recessed areas let into the underside of each tabletop to facilitate nesting of the tabletops on corresponding pedestals without the use of tools; said pedestals being in lieu of table legs and panel legs; pre-cured foam-cores being in lieu of interior framework and the pedestals comprising pre-cured foam-cores having one or more integral recessed pre-cured foam-core bases along the bottom side or sides of each pedestal.

10. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising articles of furniture inclusive of tables and table desks.

11. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising tabletops of two or more planar components that are laminated together with adhesives.

12. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising tabletops having one or more recessed areas on the underside of said tabletops and said recessed areas being configured to nest with the tops of corresponding pedestals, whereby the perimeters of the recessed areas of the tabletops and the top edges of corresponding pedestals parallel and abut each other, thereby facilitating nesting.

13. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising full-bed adhesive coverage in lieu of mechanical fasteners and connectors.

14. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising pre-cured foam-core pedestals with integral recessed bases along one or more sides of each pedestal.

15. The furniture line according to claim one further comprising exterior surface materials that are adhesively applied to the surfaces of pre-cured foam-core pedestals.

16. The furniture line according to claim 1 further comprising tabletops that nest with tops of corresponding pedestals in such manner that rotational and horizontal movement is restricted and each table resists vertical movement due to the effect of gravity, thereby holding said tabletops in place without utilizing adhesives or mechanical fasteners or connectors.