Modular Furniture
The invention is directed to a modular furniture design having contoured ballast chamber for directing the weighting from a peripheral weighting orientation to a peripheral weighting configuration. The furniture may further comprise a base and a top, the base having a one piece molded generally hollow body comprising a contoured ballast compartment having a closable opening and a plurality of sidewalls forming legs supporting a top. A top attachment may be a chair, table top or similar furniture piece. The chair may be adapted for sitting at a table, lounging or reading with or without arms. An attachable cushion is fastened to the chair to provide a color coordinated seat attached by tamper resistant fastener assembly comprising tabs mounted under the seat of the cushion extending into and engaging seat holes in the seating surface of the chair and held in place by a threaded fastener extending through the back rest of the chair engaging a threaded insert in the cushion.
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This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61929766 filed Jan. 21, 2014 and claims the benefit of the filing date of said co-pending provisional Application Ser. No. 61929766.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to furniture for use in intensive use facilities and institutional settings such as hospitals, military housing, prisons, jails, detention centers and psychiatric facilities. More particularly, the present invention comprises a modular chair and table system having modular components such as a weighted or ballasted base, removable, interchangeable top and attachable upholstery.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONModular furniture such as chairs and tables are designed for use in seating and reception areas to accommodate people waiting, relaxing or meeting. Facilities having large quantities of people who may have special needs use furniture designed for intensive use for safely and durability. Assembled furniture may present certain hazards in use in intensive use settings where furniture components and fasteners may be removed and turned into weapons. Plastic and fiberglass construction has replaced wood and metal by its ability to be formed into three-dimensional shapes without external fasteners. Fiberglass and plastic is generally more aesthetically appealing than steel or wood, and more resistant to damage. Wood furniture, for example may have problems with cracking, warping and joints loosening in these settings. This type of furniture is made custom to order due to the complexity and
Furniture in such settings may be designed to blend into surrounding decorations by matching upholstery. The furniture may be arranged in combination of chairs and tables. Intensive use furniture may be ballasted or bolted directly to the floor or walls to reduce rearranging, tipping or moving furniture. Securing or ballasting the furniture to the floor reduces the safety concerns on both the visitors and staff resulting in a safer environment. Tamper resistant glides may be attached to the legs to glide on the floor to assist sliding the furniture while minimizing tampering or removal of the fasteners.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a modular molded furniture design having a single piece molded base for interchangeably supporting a seat or table, the seat being of single piece molded design having a modular attached upholstery decorated cushion securely attached to provide aesthetically pleasing configurations. The cushion may be attached using tamper resistant fasteners and attachments. The base may have legs and a contoured ballast enclosure to support the furniture and prevent moving and tipping. The chairs designed for alternate sitting positions and adapted to securely retain fastened upholstery for forming a variety of configurations.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA first embodiment of the present invention is directed to a modular furniture system for use in demanding environments, comprising a rotationally molded (referred to hereinafter as (roto-molded), one piece hollow base having an integral ballast chamber, feet for engaging a floor surface and a top mounting surface. A chair or table top may be mounted on the top mounting surface to provide modular assembly of furniture on a common base type. The table top may be a wood or high pressure laminate or molded top having contours, designs or integral gaming surfaces. The chair top may be chosen from a group of styles comprising a pull up chair, waiting room chair or lounge chair. The chair top may have an attachable cushion having a decorative upholstery cover for matching aesthetically pleasing decor in the surrounding room. The cushion may comprise a seat portion and a back portion formed into a single semi-rigid frame covered with padding and the decorative cover. A tamper resistant fastener assembly attaches the cushion to the chair to prevent removal by users in such intensive use environments.
The semi-rigid frame may be formed of a resilient material having a seat portion and a back portion. The seat portion comprises a seat portion and a back portion. The seat portion having a bottom surface, a front and rear portion. The back portion having a top, a lumbar portion and a back surface. The rear portion of the seat may be connected to the lumbar portion of the back to form a one piece semi-rigid frame for mounting on the seating portion of the chair. The front portion is substantially aligned with the front seating portion of the chair. The tamper resistant fastener assembly attaching the cushion to the chair may comprise plurality of L-shaped brackets having tabs extending from the cushion. The tabs may engage and interlock with holes formed in the seat on either the seat portion or the back portion having the cushion urged to bear against the chair by a fastener on the other of the seat portion or back portion holding the tabs locked to the chair and the cushion on the chair. An indentation may be formed on the back of the chair to recess mount the fastener and provide a landing for a washer used to reinforce the fastener. The fastener extending through a portion of the chair to engage the cushion and hold the cushion to the chair. A cover in the indentation helps prevent tampering with the cushion attachment.
The ballast chamber may be contoured or shaped to provide optimal displacement of the ballast material to resist moving the chair and reduce the use of ballast material. The ballast chamber may be integrally formed with the base having a contoured shape such as an inward directed semi spherical, pyramidal or conical bottom wall or formed having a triangular cross sectional shape to disperse ballast material to an axial, central or peripheral portion of the ballast chamber for weighting directed toward the legs and feet of the furniture. In one embodiment, the contoured ballast chamber may have a top wall, a plurality of sidewalls and a closable ballast opening, each of the plurality of sidewalls attached to the top. Each sidewall attached to an adjacent two of the plurality of sidewalls, the closable ballast opening formed in the contoured ballast chamber. The top wall may further comprise a front, a back a first side and a second side, the plurality of sidewalls may further comprise a first and a second substantially rectangular side walls and a first and a second substantially triangular side wall, the first rectangular sidewall having a front, back, bottom and top edge. The top edge of the first rectangular sidewall attached to the first side of the top, the second rectangular sidewall having a front, back, bottom and top edge. The top edge of the second rectangular sidewall attached to the second side of the top, the bottom edge of the first rectangular sidewall attached to the bottom edge of the second rectangular sidewall to form a triangular shaped contoured ballast chamber, each of the first and second triangular shaped side walls having a top, a first and a second edge. The first edge of the first triangular shaped side wall on the front edge of the first rectangular side wall. The second edge of the first triangular shaped side wall on the front edge of the second rectangular side wall. The top edge of the first triangular shaped side wall on the front edge of the top of the base. The first edge of the second triangular shaped side wall on the back edge of the first rectangular side wall, the second edge of the first triangular shaped side wall on the back edge of the second rectangular side wall. The top edge of the first triangular shaped side wall on the back edge of the top of the base, whereby the closed contoured ballast chamber may have a substantially triangular cross section for center weighting.
Attachment means may further be provided to attach the modular furniture components as chairs or tables together in a ganging style to provide couch type seating by ganging together chairs with our arms or to provide meeting or discussion arrangements by ganging the furniture pieces in an L-shape or otherwise and thereby making the furniture harder to move by the combined ballasting of the individual components.
The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
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Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given. Further, the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that other forms, details, and embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. A modular furniture design comprising:
- a base having a contoured ballast chamber formed therein, the contoured ballast chamber having a top wall, a plurality of sidewalls and a closable ballast opening, each of the plurality of sidewalls attached to the top, each sidewall attached to an adjacent two of the plurality of sidewalls, the closable ballast opening formed in the contoured ballast chamber;
- a top selected from the group consisting of a chair and a table;
- ballast material in the contoured ballast chamber.
2. The invention of claim 1, wherein contoured ballast chamber has a partial spherical shape whereby the ballast material is urged to the perimeter of the base.
3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the contoured ballast chamber has an inverted pyramid shape whereby the ballast material is urged to a centerline of the base between the front and the back.
4. The invention of claim 3, wherein the contoured ballast chamber has a substantially triangular cross section whereby the base is center weighted.
5. The invention of claim 2, wherein the contoured ballast chamber has a substantially rectangular cube shape having four sidewalls attached to the base top and a semi spherical bottom wall whereby the ballast material is urged toward the ballast chamber sidewalls.
5. The invention of claim 1, wherein the contoured ballast chamber has a substantially triangular cross section extending from the front of the base to the back whereby the ballast material is urged toward a centerline of the chair extending parallel to the back rest.
6. The invention of claim 4, wherein the top comprises an attached chair, the chair having a seat and a back rest, the seat having a front, a back, first side and a second side, the back rest having a lumbar portion attached to the back of the seat and a shoulder portion attached to the lumbar portion, a first side and a second side, the seat further comprising a seating surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface having a contour for interlocking with the contour on the top wall.
7. The invention of claim 6, further comprising an attached cushion and a tamper resistant attachment on the chair, the tamper resistant attachment engaging the cushion.
8. The invention of claim 1, wherein the top comprises a chair integrally molded with the base, the chair having a seat and a back rest, the seat having a seating surface.
9. The invention of claim 8, further comprising an attached cushion and a tamper resistant attachment on the chair, the cushion having a semi-rigid frame, the semi-rigid frame having a seat portion and a back portion, the tamper resistant attachment engaging the cushion.
10. The invention of claim 8, wherein the seat further comprises a first and second arm rest integrally molded to the seat.
11. The invention of claim 7, wherein the cushion further comprises a semi-rigid frame having a seat portion and a back portion, a cover on the semi-rigid frame, the seat portion having a bottom surface on the seat, the tamper resistant attachment further comprises a plurality of L-shaped brackets on the semi-rigid frame the L-shaped brackets adapted to engage the chair seat whereby the tamper resistant attachment connects the cushion to the seat.
12. The invention of claim 9, wherein the tamper resistant attachment further comprises a first L-shaped bracket on the semi-rigid frame, a threaded T-nut insert on the semi-rigid frame spaced from the first L-shaped bracket, the first I-shaped bracket having a cushion leg on the semi-rigid frame, a spacer portion and an engagement tab spaced from the bottom surface of semi-rigid frame, a first cushion aperture formed in the seating surface of the chair, the first cushion aperture adapted to back rest, the fastener threadably engaging the semi-rigid frame, a cover in the indentation whereby the cushion is attached to the chair.
18. The invention of claim 17 further comprising a ballasted base on the chair, the ballasted base having a top, a bottom and a contoured ballast chamber, the chair on the top, plurality of feet on the bottom, a ballast material in the contoured ballast chamber.
19. The invention of claim 18 wherein the contoured ballast chamber has an inverted pyramid shape, the inverted pyramid shape having a large periphery adjacent the chair and a small periphery adjacent the bottom whereby a gravitational pull urges the ballast material to a center weighting position.
20. The invention of claim 18 wherein the contoured ballast chamber further comprises a bottom wall adjacent the bottom of the base, the bottom wall having a semi spherical contour, the semi spherical contour directing the ballast material to a peripheral weighting configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 21, 2015
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2016
Applicant: The Norix Group (West Chicago, IL)
Inventor: John Cali, SR. (Elgin, IL)
Application Number: 14/602,261