Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
U~50
This invention has maximum importance in connection
with ~he substantially complete furnishing of large business
and professional office space, although the principles involved
do have advantages in connection with furnishing relatively
small offices and for home use.
The creation of a large business or professional
office normally involves the services of an architect who lays
out the rooms and determines the furnishings required for the
efficient conduct of the business involved. Then the furniture
is ordered from one or more furniture manufacturers who make
the various articles of furniture specified. This furniture,
being necessarily of large bulk relative to its weight, is
then at undesirable expense shipped to the location of the
offices, normally hand-transported into elevators, most office
space being above ground level, and finally placed in position
ready for use.. The manufacture of the furniture, its shipment
and its ultimate handling, all involve an expense representing
a very large portion of the overall cost of creating any
office organization of large size. The same burden of cost
must be borne in the case of smaller offices and homes.
To reduce such costs, the prior art has suggested
the manufacture and use of knock-down furniture, possibly of
- modular type. At first glance, this has offered attractive
possibilities, but all prior designs of such furniture have
required precision manufacturing techniques, requiring highly
skilled labor, and the erection of the furniture has been so
- compl~cated as to, again, require the use of relatively highly
skilled labor. In addition, such furniture has often required
a great multiplicity of parts to meet the requirement that
the furniture usually must be adaptable for use as book shelves,
~ ' .
~; . . .
lU4~;~50
cabinets having doors, cabinets having sliding drawers, and
the like.
The primary ob~ect of the present invention is to
provide a system of knock-down furniture, designed around a
basic unit construction, providing for the various furniture
CQnStructionS normally required such as cabinets forming book
shelves provided with swinging doors, sliding drawers, etc.,
without requiring the parts to be manufactured by highly
skilled labor, with all of the parts being capable of being
shipped flat, and with the parts capable of erection at the
point of use, by relatively unskilled labor.
To achieve the above ob~ect, the invention provides
a knock-down furniture system incorporating, for each piece of
furniture, at least one set of two side panels and top and
bottom panels which can be assembled in edge-to-edge relation-
ship to form a basic unit having four walls formed by the
panels. Each two of the panels has edge sections which when
the unit is assembled are mutually ad~acent, and these sections
- are formed to provide a relatively loosely fitting dovetailed
2~ ~oint therebetween, one edge section being male and the other
female.
m ese panels ~ith their ~oints can be cut from flat
plywood by relatively unskilled labor, because the joints are
designed with large fitting tolerances. me joints are fully
exposed in the final furniture and the parts are completely
visible to persons who assemble the parts. Because the parts
fit loosely, and cooperation so eaSily recognized, any person
can fit the four panels together to create the basic unit.
Furthermore, only one person is required because the dovetailed
Joints are inherently self-interlocking when once fitted
3.
. . .
.
.
- - . ~
la40;~so
together.
Most office personnel prefer the appearance and feel
of wood, and as suggested above, plywood is an acceptable
material in the case of the present system. To hide the sawed
edges which in some instances are necessarily exposed when the
unit is assembled, strips of solid wood are fastened to these
edges as is normal in the case of plywood furniture. However,
in this instance the strips have their exposed corners trans-
versely rounded and this way the frankly exposed joints between
the parts are made not only inconspicuous, but items of decora-
tion, the exposed dovetailed ~oints and edges being made into
decorative features providing the completed assembly with
character.
To hold the ~oints together when the basic unit is
moved around, the edges of the sections forming the female
joint parts, are grooved, this prcducing enclosed holes when
the decorative strips are applied æince they oover the groove.
m e male parts have relatively short holes formed in them at
posltions regi~tering with the holes of the female sections
when the unit is assembled. Then, to fix the ~oint against
separation, if, for example, the unit is lifted, pins, having
decorat~ve outer ends, are inserted through these holes in the
two parts of each ~oint, thus positively locking the ~oint
against separation. The holes required by the female sections
are relatively long and could not be drilled accurately by
relatively unskilled labor, and the described method of con-
structlon provides for accurate holes which can be made without
reguirlng skill. The holes of the male parts need not be very
deep and do not require great accuracy. The fit of the pins
in the holes can be relatively loose without affecting the
4.
'
' ~
,. . .
- . . ~ , - . ~ ,
, . . , . - i .. ~ , - i .
. . - -. ~ . . :
- 1~4(~;~5~
efficiency with which the joint is locked against separation.
Although the above description has applied to a
single unit, it is to be understood that the same features will
be used to produce a large number of such units. The panels
may all be made of the same dimensions; for example, to comply
with current office furniture dimensions, the side panels may
be 24 inches high and 18 inches deep, while the top and bottom
panels may be 36 inches wide and, of course, 18 in~hes deep.
For easiest furniture erection, the side panels may have the
male ~oint parts and the female cuts then being made in the
top and bottom panels. Only a single male and female joint
set is required for each of the ~oints, because the dovetailed
parts may be made of substantial length. With this, of course,
aæ to each piece of furniture, the two side panels may be set
down into the bottom panel via the ~oints, the side panels
remaining self-sustaining until the top panel can be installed,
the a6sembly then remaining self-sustaining until the pins are
inserted to complete the unit. If stacked units are desired,
links are provided so that each link can be engaged by the pins
of the respective units, thus locking the stacking units to-
gether.
When the units are intended for use as open book
cases, one or more shelves may be installed in the customary
manner. Also the side panels may be grooved so that a rela-
tively thin plywood back panel may be slid into place.
To make the basic unit universally applicable to
- more other furniture types required in offices, it ~ necessary
- to make provislons for swinging doors and sliding drawers, as
required in the case of file cabinets and the like.
Wlth the above in mind, the top and bottom panels of
. .
lV~ U
the basic unit have blind holes formed in them via their
inside surfaces. These holes are formed near the front and
back edges of both these panels. m ey are inconspicuous if
not needed.
The above holes provide for mounting both one or
moreswinging doors or for providing the basic unit with sliding
drawer~ In the case of a door the manufacturer of the parts
provides a door with a support member connected to the door by
suitable hinges, preferably of the concealed type. Such a
support member may be simply a flat wood ~ail and for shipment
is folded flat against the door. The ends o~ this member or
rail has blind holes drilled in it so that the rail may be
placed along one side of the basic unit with its top and bottom
ends substantially abutting the top and bottom panels, and with
its blind holes registerlng with those formed in the top and
- bottom panels. This permits the assembly of a cabinet having
one or more swinging doors, pins being placed in the blind
- holes of the bottom end of the support member and in the corres-
pondlng holes formed in the bottom panel, prior to dropping the
top panel into its position where the panel joints interlock.
Pins are then inserted in the holes of the top of this member
or rail and the panel then dropped into position, the pins at
;~ the top and bottom of the rail and support member firmly holding
it into position. In the case of two doors, the other door
has the corresponding support member or rail which with pins
is locked into place via the top and bottom blind holes at
the opposite end of the unit.
mese same blind holes provide for mounting a sliding
drawer. In this case the support members are dimensioned to
extend for substant1a11y the fu11 depth of the side pane1s of
." ,
~ ' ~
.
~)f~
the unit, and two are used, one at each end of the unit. The
top and bottom edges of these deeper members are also formed
with drilled blind holes, not only at their ~ront portions,
but also at their back portions, this providing for the two
of corresponding interlocking pins at the front and back of
each member In this case the members are provided with drawer
slides of any suitable type such as might be exemplified by
suitable horizontally extending grooves made at appropriate
locations. With the provision of these drawer slides, drawers
may be provided for the units. To provide drawers, in accor-
dance with the present system, each drawer is premade at the
factory with front, back and side~ interjoined by hinges
permitting swinging in directions such that the drawer folds
flat for shipment. The sides of this drawer are provided with
cooperating sliding elements for the drawer slides previously
referred to Here again the labor required for erection is -~
not required to have any substantial skill. The flat, folded
drawer is simply swung into the rectangular shape required
and shoved into place with the respective drawer slides mating.
For a drawer bottom, the bottom portions of the drawer panels
may be grooved, so that a light plywood panel can be pushed
into these grooves when the drawer is erected, or ln effect,
unfolded, such a panel rendering the drawer rigid against re-
folding.
The blind holes previously referred to are preferably
metal lined both for appearance in case they are exposed, as
when the unit i6 used as a cabinet having an open front, and to
resist possible deformation when used with the pins.
It can be seen that this invention provides a system
meeting the ob~ective previously stated. In all cases
7.
.. .
.
'
1~4(~'~50
relatively large manufacturing tolerances are involved making
manufacturing easy. During manufacture, all of the parts that
must be handled are flat parts, thus eliminating the need for
expensive manufacturing facilities. Every type of furniture
can be furnished by parts which can be shipped in flat stacked
condition, this correspondingly making the handling of the
parts relatively easy inconnection with getting them into the
office space requiring furnishing. The erection of the basic
units and the application of any components required to provide
doors, sliding drawers, etc., is so very obvious as to be
within the competence of almost any person. No skill is re-
quired. After erection, each furniture construction is firmly
locked together and can be moved about and lifted without fear
of disassembly.
The presently preferred mode for carrying out the
- invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one of the basic
units during its assembly;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing how two of the
uni~s, when assembled, may be stacked on top of each other;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the basic unit
as it appears when in the form of a cabinet having swinging
doors;
Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4
in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross section taken on the
line 5-5 in Fig. 3;
Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6
in Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 (located on the second page of the drawings)
8.
,:
, . . . . . .
.
: ..... ~ . .. . . .
- . : . . . . :
-: , :,, : : . - '
- :
.:
is a perspective view of the unit when provided with sliding
drawers;
Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 8-8
in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a horizontal cross section taken on the
line 9-9 in Fig. 7;
Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken on the line 10-10
in Fig. 8; and
Fig. 11 (located on the second page of the drawings)
is a perspective view showing one of the drawers being unfolded.
Having reference to the above drawings, Figs. 1 and
2 show the basic unit concept.
Each unit comprises a set of two side panels 1 and 2
and top and bottom panels 3 and 4, respectively. To make the
unit, these panels are assembled in edge-to-edge relationship to
form the basic unit formed by Fig. 2 in which two of the units are
stacked, one on top of the other. All of the panels may be cut
from plywood of suitable thickness and external appearance. The
side panels 1 and 2 have their top and bottom edge sections cut to
form the male elements 5 of the previously described dovetailed
joints and the top and bottom panels have their edge sections cut
to form the female portions 6 of these joints. The portions 6a of
the female joint sections are grooved as at 6b with the finished
strips 7 covering these grooves to form holes. Because of the
lengths required, the holes may be drilled in the male joint
elements 5 but preferably, for convenience, these are also grooved
as at 5a and covered by the side panel finished strips 8. These
strips 7 and 8 may be made of wood and provided with rounded edges
as indicated at 8a and 7a.
' 30 The bottom panel 4 and its joint portions and edge
;
9.
`L~ --
: : . - ..
. . .
. ~ . -
.
.. . ~ , -
O
trimming may be the same and finished strips 9 are elsewhere
applied as required to cover the laminations of the plywood
panel edges.
The pins are shown at 10 as being insertable via the
holes formed by the grooves 5a and 6b and the link used when
the elements are stacked as shown at 11.
In Fig. 2, two of the basic units are shown stacked
one on top of the other, and although not clearly indicated,
it is to be understood that they are interconnected via the
links 11 engaged by the mutually ad~acent sets of pins 10.
- As previously noted, none of the ~oints or sawed
edges of the plywood require precision techniques. m e edges
are covered by the strips 7, 8, 9, etc., and the edges of these
strips generally are rounded throughout so that where there are
~oints, the 1006eness ls concealed. The ease of assembly pre-
viously referred to is clearly indicated by Fig. 1. Practically
anyone can make the assembly.
In terms of modern art, the result is extremely
attractive as can be seen by Flg. 2. The open and exposed
~ 20 dovetailed ~oints are attractive, the rounded edges of the
; trim wood make all ~oints appear to be intentionally decorative
and, therefore, psychologically non-existent, and the pins
themselves can be quite decorative by having ball ends lOa
which can be chrome plated. Also, the links 10, if used, can
be chrome plated so that they have the effect of deliberate
trim.
In all cases the top and bottom panels 3 and 4 have
the previously referred to blind holes 12 formed in their ~
lnsides ad~acent to the front end of the unit and at least one - ~-
other hole 13 formed in their back ends, these holes being
., ~ .
10. ,
::
'~
.. . . .
: - , . ; . : . ~ -
., . . ' ' ~ , .
0
drilled in all of the top and bottom panels and ~o as to be
adjacent to the side panels in the case of an assembled unit.
To provide the swinging doors of the Fig. 3 illustra-
tion, the doors 14, via hinges of the European or concealed
type 15, are fastened to the side support members 16 or
vertical wood rails, these rails in their top and bottom ends
having the holes 17 in which the pins 18 are inserted to anchor
the member 16 in place upon installation of the top panel 3,
each support member or rail extending vertically and having
10 its top and bottom ends firmly anchored so that the door in
each instance is mounted by proper hinging action.
In Fig. 7 the unit is shown with drawers. To make
this provision, sfde members or supports 16a are used which in
this case extend horizontally backward and have holes in their
15 top and bottom edges ~hich register with the back holes 13
formed in the top and bottom panels. These slde members 16a
must, in this instance, be positioned inside of both of the
side walls 1 and 2 and these members provide the drawer slides
19 required for the drawers. It can be seen that the provision
20 of either of the members 16 or 16a alternately provide for
swinging doors or the use of sliding drawers. The drawers
used, as previously described, are formed by a front panel l9,
r side panels 20 and back panel 21, all interhinged by hinges 22
: arranged to provide swinging directions permitting shipment
25 of the drawer in a flat folded condition from which it is being
partly erected in Fig. 11. The side panels 20 are formed with
grooves 20a for receiving slidingly a plywood bottom 23. This
bottom is slid into place after unfolding or erection of the
; drawer and it serves both as a drawer bottom and to prevent
30 the erected or unfolded drawer from collapsing.
11 . '
.: - , . :
. .
- .
. . - , . . , -
. .: , . : .
- . - . . . :
V
~ hen required~ the basic unit may be provided with a
back panel 24 which, as shown by Fig. 8, may be positioned in
rabbits 25 cut in the top and bottom panels 3 and 4, the pre-
viously described trim strips 9 being used to retain this
back panel in position.
When necessary to provide a base, it may be either a
plain base, or as shown by Fig. 8, formed by large chrome balls
26 supported by short legs 27 fixed to metal straps 28 extending
under the bottom panel 4 and having angle ends 28a provided
with holes through which the appropriate one of the pins 10
extend.
It is to be understood that the relatively loose
interfitting of the ~oints which provide the advantages pre-
viously described, might produce units which are not adequate~y
rigid. However, each unit becomes rigid when the back panel
24 is slid into the rabbits 25 formed into grooves by the
- strips 9. Each set of side, top and bottom panels, should also
include this back panel 24. As shown by Fig. 1~ this back
panel 24 may be eas~ly dropped into position prior to lowering
the top panel 3 into the side panels 9. m e groove 25 should
be formed in the back ends of all four panels so that when the
unit is completed, it is completely rigid.
Because all of the parts of the unit may be manu- -
factured with large manufacturing tolerances, and because of
the slmplicity of the parts, it i8 not necessary for the manu-
facturer of the parts of the unit, to increase manufacturing
costs by making a test assembly of each unit. Prior art knock-
down furniture has ordinarily required test assembly by the
manufacturer to assure that the parts can be assembled by the
. 30 user. B~cause of the simpllcity of the assembly, knock-down
' .
12.
:
'.
,; ' ' ' ~.,' ':
,j . ! .`.' .- ' . ~ ~
furniture made according to the present invention can be
easily assembled even by the clerical staff in the case of
offices, or the home owner in the case o~ home use.
The folding drawer shown by Fig. 11 is illustrated
as using four hinges to interhinge each of the corners of the
two side and fror.tand back panels of the drawer. This type of
folding construction can be used when the frontpanel of the
drawer is not wide enough to permit the two side panels to be
folded towardæ each other. When the front panel has the 36
inch width previously suggested, with an 18 inch depth, the
two side panels can be hinged to the front panel so that they
can be folded towards each other and lie flat on the front
panel, the dimensions indicated being outside dimensions.
Although not illustrated, in this case the back panel can be
provided with latches which latch with the back ends of the
side panels so that when the bottom panel 23 is slid in the
grooves 20a, the drawer becomes a rigid unit.
This invention provides what can be called a building
system comprising the side, top and bottom and back panels of
the basic unit, which can be used either with an open fro~t or -
provided with swinging doors or sliding drawers. The assembled
unlts are symmetrical and can be stacked, using the links
prevlously descrlbed, to form dividing walls for ad~acent
offlces. Being symmetrical, the units may be stacked to face
in either direction, permitting the occupants of ad~acent rooms
to be provided with acce~s to, for example, alternate ones of
the units without either occupant being confronted by a solid
wall formed by the backs of all of the units. The exterior
surfaces of the back panels 24~can~ of course, be attractively
finished. Once the units are installed, they have the flexi-
-; . -' . . -
. - ~ - . , :
:.
o
bility required to meet the dynamics of modern office reorgani-
zations which periodically occur. The units can be unlinked,
rearranged, units which were initially open faced, can be
provided with either doors or drawers, and the like.
The pins 18 are preferably press-fitted into the
ends of the rails 16 by the manufacturer, to avoid the need
for shipping them as separate items of loose hardware.
Although not illustrated, it can be understood now
that all components of this new system can be manufactured,
shipped, and handled in the form of flat parts which are stacked
when convenient. Large manufacturing tolerances are prescribed
not only to keep the manufacturing cost down, but of equal
importance, to permit very easy assembly of the various compo-
nents required to produce the various open cases, cabinets
having doors, cabinets having sliding drawers, particularly
-`~ file cabinets, and the like. The interfitting parts are not
- only loose for easy assembly, but also they are all very plainly
visible so that practically anyone can see how the parts
interassociate. This invention does provide a building system
for furnishing even large offices, extending from low cost
manufacture, low cost shipment, low cost transportation and
handling to the point of use, and finally low cost assembly,
while at the ~ame time producing a large array of furniture
constructions.
~ '.
14
.; '
.
", ' '``, :'., ' : ~ . .
