WO1999065363A1

WO1999065363A1 - A convertible table

Info

Publication number: WO1999065363A1
Application number: PCT/AU1999/000488
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roy Barlow
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-06-17
Filing date: 1999-06-17
Publication date: 1999-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2000-12-17
Also published as: AUPP414598A0; AU750869B2; AU4590099A

Abstract

A convertible table comprising a table top (11), a first support leg (13) pivotally connected to the table top and a second support leg (14) pivotally connected to the table top (11), wherein at least one of the support legs includes a seat (23) and wherein pivotal movement of the table top with respect to one of the support legs enables the table to be converted to a chair with the table top forming a back rest.

Description

A CONVERTIBLE TABLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is particularly applicable to outdoor furniture. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of tables have been produced which enable the table to be increased or decreased in size or to be easily folded away for transportation. A picnic table exists for example consisting of a table top and two bench type chairs which can be folded up and stored away in a box in the back of a vehicle for easy transportation. Such a table is made from plastic components connected together with steel or aluminium struts .

The present invention is aimed at providing a table which can be used in a domestic situation as a picnic table when it is desired to entertain guests, but which can be converted into a bench type chair when the table is not required, but additional space is desirable without the necessity of having to remove the table altogether. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a convertible table comprising a table top, a first support leg pivotally connected to the table top and a second support, leg pivotally connected to the table top, wherein at least one of the support legs includes a seat and wherein pivotal movement of the table top with respect to one of the support legs enables the table to be converted to a chair with the table top forming a back rest.

It is preferred that the support legs include first and second seats.

The first leg support may be pivotally connected to the table top through first pivots which are slidable along an axis .

Preferably the axis is parallel to the table top. The first leg support may comprise parallel elongate first members extending from respective first pivots to a ground surface .

Preferably the first pivots are located at both ends of the table top .

The table top may comprise end members which extend from a front to a back portion of the table at each end thereof . The end members may include a slot which extends between front and back portions of the end members.

Preferably the slot extends parallel to the plane of the top surface of the table top.

Preferably the slot extends in the longitudinal direction of each end member.

The first leg support elongate first members may extend downwardly diagonally from the respective first pivots.

The first seat may extend between the elongate members.

Preferably the second support leg may be pivotally connected to the table top through respective second pivots located at opposite ends of the table.

The second pivots may be located at end portions of respective interconnecting members extending between the end members and the second leg support. It is preferred that the second support leg comprises end support members located at each end of the table.

The end support members may support a second seat which extends therebetween.

Preferably the end support members include a support surface which is adapted to support the table top when in a converted position.

It is preferred that the table is convertible from a table position to a chair position in which the table top is supported by the second support leg. In the table position the second pivots are preferably located at a lower level than the first pivots.

Preferably the second pivots are located at the approximate level of the second seat.

The interconnecting members may extend downwardly from the end members when the table is in the table position.

Preferably the support surface is located at a back portion of the end support members .

According to one embodiment the second pivots are located at a forward portion of the end support members .

It is preferred that the second support leg has an elongate foot for providing stability to the convertible table when it is being changed from a table position to a chair position.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a support member having at least one main wall with an elongate slot therein and opposing lateral walls extending therefrom and defining a channel with the slot therein and adapted to receive a roller bearing which is able to roll along the channel with its centre aligned with the slot.

Preferably the opposing lateral walls are located at opposite ends of the main wall. The slot may extend in parallel with the lateral walls.

The lateral walls preferably extend perpendicular to the main wall .

According to one embodiment the support member comprises two parallel main walls extending between two parallel lateral walls.

It is preferred that the support member is I-shaped.

The parallel lateral walls may extend beyond each side of the parallel main wall.

Preferably each main wall is provided with parallel and opposing elongate slots.

The bearing may be adapted to travel within the channel along one of the lateral walls.

According to another aspect of the present invention a system is provided comprising a convertible chair including a pair of support members, each support member including a bearing.

According to one embodiment of the present invention each first pivot comprises a roller bearing which is movable within a channel of a support member. It is preferred that each end member includes a support member .

It is preferred that each support member is located in a front section of each end member. It is preferred that each first leg support is movable parallel to the top surface of the table top and is also pivotable with respect to the table top.

It is preferred that when the table is moved to the chair position the first leg support is lifted and the table top is pushed towards the second leg support about the second pivot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of a convertible table according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention when in a first position; Figure 2 shows a schematic side view of the table shown in Figure 1 when in a second and third position;

Figure 3 shows a schematic side view of the table shown in Figure 1 when in a fourth position;

Figure 4 shows an angled view of an I-beam used in conjunction with the table shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 shows a side view of part of the I-beam shown in Figure 4 ;

Figure 6 shows an end view of the I-beam installed in a table as shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 7a shows a side view of a bearing guide according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7b shows a front view of the bearing guide shown in Figure 7a;

Figure 8a shows a top view of a bearing plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 8b shows a front view of the bearing plate shown in Figure 8a. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A table 10 is shown in Figure 1 consisting of a horizontal planar table top 11 which is supported at each end 12, not shown, by two supporting legs 13, 14 which are of a different configuration.

For convenience the lefthand side of the table 10 shown in Figure 1 will be designated the front end and thus the supporting legs 13 will be designated the front legs, furthermore for convenience the other supporting legs 14 will be designated the back legs . The front legs 13 at each end of the table 10 are effectively identical. Both legs are connected to a pivot 15 which is attached to a horizontal beam preferably of wood 16 which is connected directly to the table top 11 so that the table top 11 extends between the wooden pieces 16 at either end thereof. Details of the pivot 15 will be discussed later.

Each leg 13 extends down and outwardly at an angle of approximately 45°. A bench seat 17 extends between the legs 13 and is securely fastened to both legs 13 by vertical and horizontal wooden supports 18, 19 thus having the appearance of a typical picnic table bench.

The other legs 14 in contrast to legs 13 are not connected directly to horizontal wooden beams 16, instead they are connected at each end of the table 10 to intermediate wooden supports 20 and extend downwardly and slightly rearwardly to the same level as the horizontal support beam 19 of the other legs 13.

Each support leg 14 consists of a horizontal wooden beam 21 which at its innermost end is connected through a pivot 22 to the lowermost end of support beam 20. A bench seat 23 extends between the horizontal beams 21 and is securely fastened thereto.

Each of the horizontal beams 21 is supported by a pair of legs 24, 25, leg 24 being a vertical wooden beam and leg 25 being a divergent beam extending approximately at 45° inwardly from a rearward section of the horizontal beam 21.

At the bottom of each of the legs 25, 24 a horizontal beam acts as a foot to which both legs 24, 25 are attached.

At each end of the bench seat 23 and level with the bottom of horizontal beam 21 a horizontal support surface is provided by a horizontal beam 27 which extends parallel with horizontal beam 21. Optionally this beam 27 extends rearwardly beyond the rearward extent of the bench seat 23 so as to provide a ridge at either end of the bench seat 23.

Before describing how the table 10 is converted a detailed description will be given of the pivot 15 with reference to Figures 4, 5 and 6.

The pivot 15 is a sliding pivot which is able to move along a slot 30 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal wooden beam 12. However, in the preferred embodiment the slot 30 is not provided in the wood piece 12 but instead a specially designed I-beam 31 is provided as shown in Figure 4. The I-beam consists of two vertical walls 32, 33 which extend between horizontal walls 34, 35 located at each end. A channel is thus formed between the vertical walls 32, 33 and the interconnecting parts of the horizontal walls 34, 35.

A horizontally extending slot 36 is formed in each of the vertical walls 32, 33 and each slot has an approximate height of one third of the height of the vertical wall 32, 33 in which it is provided. In Figure 6 the I-beam 31 is shown provided between upper and lower timber beams 40, 41 and the combination of these beams 40, 31, 41 forms the horizontal beam 12.

The combination beam 40, 31, 41 is located adjacent the leg 13 which is provided with a through hole 42 aligned level with the slots 36 and the I-beam 31. The through hole 42 is stepped and has a wider diameter at its outermost region to allow entry of a threaded nut which is to be located on a through bolt 44 which is to extend through the through hole 42. As shown in Figure 5 a roller bearing is located in the channel 37 formed between walls 32, 33, 34, 35. The roller bearing 50 has a central hole 51 which is aligned with the slots 36 when it is located on the bottom horizontal wall 35. As shown in Figure 6 the through bolt 44 is inserted through the slots 36 and the centre of the roller bearing 50 with the head of the bolt 45 being located on the left hand side of the I-beam between upper and lower walls 34, 35 of the I-beam 31. The opposite end of the bolt 44 is provided with the nut 42 threaded thereon so that the bolt is secured in place. Because the bolt 44 is supported by the roller bearing 50 it is able to roll with the roller bearing 50 along the slot and at the same time the roller bearing is able to allow the bolt 44 to rotate as desired, thus the leg 13 can be moved horizontally as defined by the length of the slot 36 or can be pivoted to turn the bolt 44 within the roller bearing 50. As the bolt head 55 is housed within a recessed area it can be completely covered by a cover plate as shown for example as cover plate 60 which covers the recess in which the bolt head 55 is located.

It is preferred that the I-beam has a dimension of 31mm X 27mm X 2mm and is inserted in a 68mm X 32mm piece of timber. An NTN stainless steel bearing 6000LLU per 2AUI is preferably provided. The I-beam is preferably a steel or aluminium extrusion specially formed with the slots 36 as previously described. In the example shown the inner combined wooden beam 40,

31, 41 has a width of 32mm which is the same as the width of the support legs 13. Preferably the width of the table top 11 located directly above both of these components is also 32mm. Desirably the table has a width of 850mm with the centre of the longitudinal length of the slot being located 300mm from the front end thereof.

Figure 1 shows the table 10 in its first mode of use as a lunch table with bench seats 17, 23 provided on front and rearward sides of the table top 11. In Figure 2 the table top 11 is shown in a lifted position in which it has been lifted and rotated approximately 45° about pivots 22. The table top 11 is moved by lifting the support legs 13 upwardly which cause them to pivot with respect to table top 11 at pivot points 15. The support legs 13 thus are located in position B. Further lifting of the support leg 13 to a position C where they are just below a horizontal level results in only minor movement of the table top 11. However from position C the table top 11 can be pushed backwardly by pushing on the support legs 13 and the table top 11 can continue to rotate clockwise about pivots 22 until support beam 20 is seated on horizontal beams 27 at each end of the bench seat 23. In this position support beams 20 are in a horizontal position and the table top 11 is inclined slightly backwardly to an extent defined by the angle between the table top 11 and the support beams 20. Thus if the support beams 20 were connected at right angles to the table top 11 the table top 11 would be oriented vertically when the support beams 20 were seated on the horizontal beams 27.

By pushing the table top 11 to its final position D as shown in Figure 3 each support leg 13 is able to be pivoted downwardly again in a counter clockwise direction and at the same time each pivot 15 is able to slide upwardly along the slot 36. Depending on the length of the table top 11, slot 36 and length and angle of support leg 13 each pivot 15 may move right to the end of the associated slot 36. However with the table top 11 in its final resting position as a back rest the support leg 13 is designed so that it contacts the ground with its lowermost part 62. When this occurs the bench seat 17 of the support leg 13 sits over the top of bench seat 23. It is preferred that support beam 20 and the rear most part of the table top 11 rests on horizontal beam 27. However, optionally the table top 11 can be made to abut with the rearward most part of vertical leg 24 so that this abutment prevents the table top 11 from moving any lower due to its pivotal movement about pivots 22.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the sliding pivot 15 is provided by a stepped-C shaped bearing guide 50 instead of the I beam shown in Figures 4 to 6. The bearing guide 50 has upper and lower vertically aligned plate sections 51 and 52 with a longitudinal slot 53 extending therebetween and providing access to an interior stepped cavity 54 consisting of a first wide cavity 55 and a second inner narrower cavity 56.

A bearing plate 57 having bearing support elements 58 and 59 is shown in Figures 8a and 8b.

Each bearing support element 58, 59 is adapted to be located within the cavity 54 of the bearing guide 50.

The bearing support elements 58, 59 are generally cylindrical in shape with an outer end consisting a narrow cylindrical neck region 60, 61 and an outermost narrow head section 62 , 63. The outer end is adapted to be located within the cavity 54 with a cylindrical bearing located around the periphery of the neck region 60, 61.

As shown in Figure 8a the bearing plate 57 consists of a plate 64 having a generally elongate rectangular shape with rounded left and right sides 65 and 66. The bearing support elements 58 and 59 are located at each of the left and right sides 65, 66 and extend perpendicular to the plate in a horizontal direction when disposed in the cavity 54. A support rod 67 extends horizontally outwardly from the centre of the plate 64 and is adapted to extend through an upper end of leg 13 of the table.

The bearing plate 57 and bearing guide 50 described above provide an alternative way of pivotally connecting the leg 13 to the rest of table 12 and has the advantage of eliminating any risk of injury which could occur as a result of using an I-shaped beam as shown in Figure 6.

Claims

1. A convertible table comprising a table top, a first support leg pivotally connected to the table top and a second support leg pivotally connected to the table top, wherein at least one of the support legs includes a seat and wherein pivotal movement of the table top with respect to one of the support legs enables the table to be converted to a chair with the table top forming a back rest .

2. A convertible table as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support legs include first and second seats .

3. A convertible table as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first leg support is pivotally connected to the table top through first pivots which are slidable along an axis.

4. A convertible table as claimed in claim 3 wherein the axis is parallel to the table top.

5. A convertible table as claimed in claim 4 wherein the first leg support comprises parallel elongate first members extending from respective first pivots to a ground surface.

6. A convertible table as claimed in claim 5 wherein the first pivots are located at both ends of the table top.

7. A convertible table as claimed in claim 6 wherein the table top comprises end members which extend from a front to a back portion of the table at each end thereof.

8. A convertible table as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end members include a slot which extends between front and back portions of the end members .

9. A convertible table as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slot extends parallel to the plane of the top surface of the table top.

10. A convertible table as claimed in claim 9 wherein the slot extends in the longitudinal direction of each end member .

11. A convertible table as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first leg support elongate first members which extend downwardly diagonally from the respective first pivots .

12. A convertible table as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first seat extends between the elongate members .

13. A convertible table as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second support leg is pivotally connected to the table top through respective second pivots located at opposite ends of the table.

14. A convertible table as claimed in claim 13 wherein the second pivots are located at end portions of respective interconnecting members extending between their end members and the second leg support .

15. A convertible table as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second support leg comprises end support members located at each end of the table.

16. A convertible table as claimed in claim 15 wherein the end support members support a second seat which extends therebetween .

17. A convertible table as claimed in claim 16 wherein the end support members include a support surface which is adapted to support the table top when in a converted position .

18. A convertible table as claimed in claim 17 wherein the table is convertible from a table position to a chair position in which the table top is supported by the second support leg.

19. A convertible table as claimed in claim 18 wherein the support surface is located at a back portion of the end support members .

20. A support member for use with a convertible table, the support member comprising an elongate member adapted for connection to part of a convertible table and having a slot which opens to a channel, the channel being adapted to receive one or more roller bearings and part of a roller bearing support member to enable the support member to be connected to a leg of the convertible table, whereby the leg is able to pivot and slide with respect to the support member .

21. A support member as claimed in claim 20 wherein the elongate member includes a closed cavity which forms the channel .

22. A support member as claimed in claim 21 wherein the elongate member has first and second channel compartments having different vertical dimensions .

23. A support member as claimed in claim 20 wherein the elongate member comprises two parallel main walls extending between two parallel upper and lower lateral walls .

24. A support member as claimed in claim 23 wherein parallel slots are formed in each of the main walls.

25. A convertible table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 6.

26. A convertible table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figures 7a to 8b.

27. A support member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7a to 8b.

28. A support member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 to 6.