GB2141924A

GB2141924A - Leg units for furniture

Info

Publication number: GB2141924A
Application number: GB08415555A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Beckett
Original assignee: BERNSTEIN Ltd CYRIL
Current assignee: BERNSTEIN Ltd CYRIL
Priority date: 1983-06-20
Filing date: 1984-06-19
Publication date: 1985-01-09
Also published as: GB2141924B; GB8415555D0

Abstract

A leg unit for furniture 4 comprises a leg 2 and a flange member 3 which is adapted to be secured to the top of the leg by a bolt or screw. The flange member consists of a substantially triangular plate provided with a series of holes (15-20) by means of which it can be screwed both to the base 23 of an article of furniture and to a side member 24 or a framework of the said article of furniture. At the corner shown, holes 15 and 17 provide connection to the side member 24 while hole 20 provides connection to the base 23. A stiffening rib 22 is provided along an edge of the plate and the lower end of the leg is provided with an adjustable foot 6. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Leg Units for Furniture This invention relates to leg units for furniture.

Very often legs for furniture are produced as units which have a flange member at the upper end so that the leg unit can be screwed directly on to the base member of the article of furniture.

However, such an arrangement can result in a number of disadvantages.

Modern furniture is usually made on a sturdy framework while the parts fitting in the framework need to have little strength since their function is often only to close the openings which would otherwise exist. This is particularly true of base mebmers of upholstered furniture or articles of furniture where the base member forms no support function.

If the usual type of legs are provided for these articles of furniture, either the base has to be strengthened by, for example, a backing framework or the use of a stronger base member than would otherwise be necessary. In the absence of such strengthening, then the furniture, after a time, has a tendency to buckle underneath or there is the possibility of the base member breaking up and becoming destroyed.

The present invention seeks to provide a leg unit for furniture with which some or all of the above disadvantages are substantially reduced or obviated.

According to the invention, a leg unit for furniture comprises a leg structure and a flange member, said flange member being adapted to be secured to the top of the leg structure and being of such shape and dimensions that it can be secured both to the base of an article of furniture and to a side member or a framework of the said article of furniture.

Preferably the flange member is of substantially triangular shape, the triangle being a right-angled triangle with the right angle being adapted to the corner of the article of furniture.

Suitably the triangle may be isosceles with base angles of 450 so that the leg can be used on all corners of the article of furniture. The corners of the substantially traingular flange member are desirably rounded.

The flange member is desirably provided with holes by means of which it can be secured by screws to the side member or framework of the article of furniture at two locations and to the base member at one location. Thus, to provide universality, the flange may be provided with six holes, to receive screws. These may be arranged one in each base corner of the triangle, one on each of the right angled sides adjacent the right angle and two further holes in the base of the triangle.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a leg unit according to the invention: Fig. 2 is a view of the leg unit shown in Fig. 1, from above, showing details of the flange member.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view from above of a second embodiment of a leg unit according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from below of the leg unit shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a partially-exploded vertical section through the leg unit shown in Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 6 is a part cross-section through the leg unit shown in Figs. 3 to 5; Fig. 7 is a plan view of a clip intended to be used in conjunction with the leg unit shown in Figs. 3 to 6; and Fig. 8 is a front view of the clip shown in Fig. 7.

In the drawings, like parts are denoted by like reference numerals.

Reference will first be made to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings in which the leg unit 1 consists basically of two parts-the leg 2 itself and a flange member in the form of a plate 3 by which the unit can be attached to an article of furniture, indicated by chain lines at 4.

The leg 2 consists of a square tube 5, attached at its upper end to the plate 3 as will be described, and a foot portion 6 associated therewith. The plate 3 is provided with a square recess 11 which is adapted to co-operate with the end of the tube 5. A washer 12 lies in this recess and a bolt 13 passes through the washer 12 and plate 3 through the tube 5 and screws into a cap 8 fitted on the lower end of the tube 5. The foot portion 6 has an internal thread which screws on to the end 7 of the bolt 1 3 which projects from the cap 8. The position of the foot portion 6 on the bolt 13 can be fixed by means of a lock nut 9.

The foot portion 6 is also provided with a square sectioned part 10 which enables the foot portion 6 to be rotated by a tool. In this way, adjustment of the leg can be obtained.

The plate 3 is an isosceles right-angled triangle and is provided with six holes, two of which, 1 5 and 16, are situated at the base corners of the triangle, a further two of which, 17 and 1 8, are situated adjacent the right angle and the remaining two of which, 19 and 20, are located along the base. The base side additionally has a strengthening rib 22.

Only three of the holes, 1 5, 17 and 20 or 16, 18 and 19 are used for fixing the plate 3 to the article of furniture 4 in dependence on the corner to which it is to be fitted. With the article shown in chain lines at 4, the edge of the base member is indicated as 23 while a side member, which is constructed as a support, is shown at 24. At the corner shown, the plate 3 will be connected by the holes 15, 17 and 20. Thus the holes 15 and 1 7 receive screws which screw into the side member 24 while the hole 20 receives a screw which screws into the base member. As can be seen, the hole 20 allows attachment of the flange 3 away from the edge of the base member and thus promotes the strength of the connection.

The adjacent corners of the article of furniture will use the other set of holes 16, 18 and 19 while the opposite corner will use the same holes 15, 17and20.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 3 to 6 of the drawings differs from the previous embodiment in that, in this case, the leg consists of a longitudinally fluted member 31 which is provided with a screw-threaded bore 32. The flange member consists of a plate 33 which is similar to the plate 3 and is provided with holes 1 5 to 20 and a strengthening rib 22 which are arranged in a similar manner as on the plate 3.

However, instead of being provided with a square recess, the plate 33 is provided with a circular recess 34 which receives a circular washer 35. A screw 36 passes through the washer and a bore in the plate 33 and engages the screw-threaded bore 32 in the fluted leg 31. In order to prevent the leg 31 from rotating relative to the plate 33, the said plate is provided on its underneath surface with a projection or dimple 37 which is engageable between two adjacent flutes of the leg 31 in the assembled condition of the unit as shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

A male screw-threaded member 38 is screwed into the lower end of the screw-threaded bore 32 in the leg 31 and a foot portion 39 provided with a square-sectioned part 40 is secured to the threaded member 38 to enable the member 38 to be rotated by a tool and thus the total length of the leg and foot portion to be adjusted.

The plate 33 can be secured to an article of furniture (not shown) by screws in a similar manner to the plate 3 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

It may be desirable, in some cases, to hide the leg units after they have been fitted to an article of furniture. This can be effectively achieved by means of a plinth which can be secured to the leg units by means of clips. A clip suitable for use with the fluted leg shown in Figs. 3 to 6 is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings. This clip is made of a resilient material and consists of two arms 41 which are interconnected by a web portion 42. A respective lever arm 43 extends from each of the arms 41 to a point substantially level with the plane of the web 42. The web is further provided with a pair of holes 44 by means of which the clip may be secured to a plinth (not shown) by screws or the like. The clip can be fitted on the fluted leg 31 by pressing the lever arms 43 towards each other in order to splay apart the arms 41 so that the latter can be fitted onto the leg.The lever arms 43 are then released whereby the resilience of the clip material will ensure that the arms 41 grip the fluted leg 32 and hold the clip, and hence the plinth, firmly in position.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the form of the leg itself may be varied as desired to suit the furniture being produced. Thus it may be round, many sided, inclined etc. An inclination of the leg may be provided by an appropriate shaping or bending of the plate, particularly the orientation of the recess 11. The leg may be adjustable or not as desired and may have a swivel foot portion which enables the foot to take up the line of the floor on which the article of furniture rests.

Other forms of attachment of the leg to the flange member may be used. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, instead of the use of a single bolt, two separate threaded portions may be provided, one on the upper end of the tube 5 and one on the foot portion. In this case, the upper threaded portion may screw into a threaded aperture in the plate or into a captive nut thereon and the lower threaded portion, i.e. the threaded portion on the foot portion may be screwed into a threaded aperture in a cap on the lower end of the tube. Alternatively, the foot portion could be a sliding fit on the tube.

Likewise, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 to 6, the fluted leg 31 need not be provided with a scew-threaded bore but, instead, the screw 36 may extend right through the leg and project from the lower end thereof. In this case, the lower end of the screw 36 will preferably be fitted with a foot portion 6 and the lower end of the leg 31 will be fitted with a cap 8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

From the above described embodiments it will be seen that a leg unit is provided for an article of furniture which will provide a secure fixing of the leg unit even when the base member of the article of furniture is relatively weak, the main fixing being to a structural side member or to the framework of the article of furniture itself.

Claims

1. A leg unit for furniture comprising a leg structure and a flange member, said flange member being adapted to be secured to the top of the leg structure and being of such shape and dimensions that it can be secured both to the base of an article of furniture and to a side member or a framework of the said article of furniture.

2. A leg unit according to claim 1, wherein the flange member is of substantially triangular shape, the triangle being a right-angled triangle with the right angle being adapted to a corner of the article of furniture.

3. A leg unit according to claim 2, wherein the flange member takes the form of an isosceles triangle.

4. A leg unit according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the corners of the flange member are rounded.

5. A leg unit according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the flange member is provided with holes by means of which it can be secured by screws to the side member or framework of the article of furniture at two locations and to the base member at one location.

6. A leg unit according to claim 5, wherein the flange member is provided with six holes to enable the leg to be secured to any one corner of the article of furniture.

7. A leg unit according to claim 6, wherein one hole is provided in each base corner of the substantially triangular flange member, a further hole is provided on each of the right-angled sides adjacent the right angle and two further holes are provided adjacent the base of the triangle.

8. A leg unit according to any preceding claim wherein the flange member is provided along at least one edge with a stiffening rib.

9. A leg unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the flange member is secured to the top of the leg structure by means of a screw or bolt.

10. A leg unit according to claim 9, wherein the leg structure has a substantially square crosssection and wherein the flange member has a substantially square recess adapted to receive the upper end of said leg structure whereby relative rotation between the flange member and leg structure are prevented when they are secured together.

11. A leg unit according to claim 9, wherein the leg structure is fluted and wherein the flange member is provided with a downwardly projecting dimple or like projection which is engageable between two adjacent flutes of the leg structure to prevent relative rotation between the flange member and the leg structure when they are secured together.

12. A leg unit according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the leg structure is tubular and the screw or bolt passes through the leg structure from one end to the other and is engageable with a cap fitted to the lower end of the leg structure.

1 3. A leg unit according to claim 12, wherein the lower end of said screw or bolt projects beyond the cap out of the leg structure and a foot portion is adjustably fitted to said lower end of the screw or bolt.

14. A leg unit according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the leg structure is provided with a screw-threaded bore, the screw or bolt being engageable with said bore at one end thereof and a foot portion being engageable with said bore at its other end.

1 5. A leg unit according to any preceding claim, wherein a clip is provided which is engageable with the leg structure to enable a plinth to be fastened to the leg unit.

16. A leg unit according to claim 15, wherein the clip comprises a pair of arms interconnected by a web and a pair of lever arms respectively mounted on said first-mentioned arms to enable said arms to be splayed apart to engage the leg structure.

1 7. A leg unit according to claim 16, wherein the clip is made of resilient material whereby the arms grip the leg structure through inherent resilience of the material from which they are made.

18. A leg unit substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

1 9. A leg unit substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 3 to 8 of the drawings.