Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
6~97
~AC~GP~OUND OF THE I~-VE2iTIO~
~ Iy prior Unitea States Patent 3,276,832 dated
October 4, 1966 related to a prefabricated sectional st~ucture
and in particular, to a joining sys-tem by which the horizontal
members have each corner removably connected to its act~acent
supporting post, consistiny essentially of an elongated
body having an out~ardly facing front ~ace and an inwardly
facing longitudinal V-channel, said body havins a plurality of
modular spaced holes extending horizontally and centrally -
through the front face of the body in registration with thè
V-shaped channel. In this construction, when the structure was
assembled into a - showcase, for example, the outwardly facing
channel had to be covered by a closure member extending the
full length of the post. This closure member somewhat detracted
from the aesthetic appe~rance of the cabinet.
The partition system disclosed in Charles F. ~ogie 7 5
United States Patent 3,884,002 dated May 20, 1975 described a
system for connecting at least two movable partitions which
employs a connector having a ~irst axis ext~nding from one o~
the partitic?ns to the other. The connector is secured to one
.
partition by means o~ a screw entered through the partition ; -
transversely through the-connector. The other partition lS ~ :
provided with a pin extendin~ transversely to tha axis o the
connector, the pin and the connector being securely fastened
in their respective apertures to secure the partitions in the
assembled position.
I British Patent 935,434 dated March 1, 1960 to
Alfred Imhof Limitecl described a corner structure for a section
~ramework consisting o a three-armed connector member for
connecting three hollow frame members of ~truded ma~ufacture, in
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1 end-to-end relationship. Each arm is split adjacent the end
thereof to be expanded by a self threading screw into frictional
engagement with the hollow interior of the frame member into
which it is inserted when assembled.
OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION
____ .
The present invention has for its principal object,
the provision of a simple means of connecting the various frame
members of knock-down furniture structure and at the same time,
avoiding outside disfigura~ion of the unit when assembled.
The invention essentially consists of a framing system
for a knock-down structure consisting of a plurality of prefabri- :
cated sections of horizontal frame members supportecl on vertical
members such as posts, and a connector for securely connecting
one end of a vertical member to the abutting ends of a pair of
horizontal frame members, said connector comprising a body
arranged to slidably fit into a connector-receiving cavity adjacent
said one end of the vertical member, a threaded extension arranged
to be entered into a threaded orifice carried at the junction of
the abutting portions of a pair of horizontal members, and screw ::
means entered transversely through the body and engageable with
t~e inside wall of the cavity to secure the..body in said cavity
in the assembled position. .
To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention
provides a one piece connector for a framing system for a
knockdown structure consisting of preabricated sections of
horizontal frame members and vertical frame members, intercon-
nected into a unitary structure, and connecting means joining a .
pair of horizontal members in abutting relationship, a one piece :::
connector for securely connecting one end of a vertical frame
30 member to the abutting encls of the pair of interconnected .
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1 horizontal frame members, the connector comprising an elongated
body arranged to frictionally and slidably fit into a connector
receiving cavity, the cavity having an inwardly facing entrance
slot adjacent the one end of the vertical frame member, a
threaded extension extending axially from the body in a
longitudinal direction and arranged to be threaded into a ::
threaded orifice in the connecting means, the orifice being ~ ~ .
located in alignment with the abutting ends of the pair of
horizontal members, and releasable means for securing the body
in the cavity against longitudinal movement in the cavity in
assembled position whereby the vertical frame member and hori-
zontal frame member are rigidly secured together~
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
~ ,
Brief Description of the Drawin~s
.
. ~ The invention will now be descr;bed with reference to
the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but : .
it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited
in its use to the structures illustrated in the drawings which
set forth its use for assembling pre~abricated framing members.
In the drawings, Figure 1 is an exploded perspective
view to illustrate ~ha connector of the present invention and
: the several parts to be combined therewith;
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1 Figure 2 illustrates the structure of Figure in
assembled position with the closing side panels in position;
Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate alternative post and
connector structures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
. ~
Figure 1 illustrates the several parts of -the corner
of a knock-down furniture structure consisting essentially of a
base 10, a corner post 11, horizontal frame members 12, 13 and,
post connec-tors generally indicated by the n~bers 14,15.
The base 10 includes a mounting plate 16 extending
diagonally across the base at an angle of approximately 45
and fastened to the base by screws 16a and ~6b. The mounting
plate 16 has a projecting portion 17 formed with a threaded hole
18, the projecting portion 17 being reduced in wid-th to form a
neck 19 and shoulders 20,21 which align with the outside edges
23, 24 of the base 10. Mounted on the outside edges 23,24 of
the base 10 are channel members 25, 26 which support the bottom
edges of panels 27, 28 as shown in Figure 2.
In the present embodiment, all of the connectors are ~;~
~0 the same and cons~quently only one o~ them will be described.
.
The connector 1~ comprises a cylindrical body 29, an axial
threaded extension 30 of reduced diameter relative to the
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diameter of the body and a grub-screw 31 which is screw-threaded
transversely through a threaded ori~ice in the body. ;;
In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2l ~;
the horizontal frame members 13, 14 are of extruded manufacture
and are identical in cross-section. Each of the frame members
12, 13, consist essentially of a pair of U-shaped channels 32, 33
in side~by-side relationship, the channel 32 being designated
', 30 the outer channel and the channel 33 being designated the
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1(156~3~7
t inner channel. Adjacent the bottom of the outer channel 32 is
a pair of guides 34, 35 pro]ecting inwardly from opposite walls
of the channel 32. This forms a support for a frame connector
to be described later and an entrance slot 40 therebetween for
the frame ~onnectors and other purposes. The free ends of the
walls forming the channel 32 are formed with inwardly facing
grooves 37, 38. The channels 32, 33 receive the usual panelling
which may consist of sheet metal, plastic, glass etc. which
are used to enclose the structure.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the ends of the frame
members 12, 13 which are to be joined together, are mitred and
the mitred ends are firmly joined together by a square connector
shown as an L-bar 36, one leg of which slides on guides 34, 35 '
of'frame member 12 and the other leg on guides 34, 35 of frame
member 13. Each leg,of the connector is provided with two grub- '~
screws 39. At the junction of the two legs of L-bar 36, there
is provided a threaded hole 41 for receiving the threaded
extension 30 of the connector 14 to be described. This aperture ' ,,'
,
or hole 41 is similar to the threaded hole 18. By tightening the
29 grub-screws 39 with a suitable tool which may be entered throu~h
the slot 40, the ahutting mitred ends can be frictionally
joined together and thus make a tight union between the
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I horizontal frame members.
.
¦~ ~ The corner post 11 shown in Figures 1 and 2 may also be
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¦- of extruded manu~acture. It has a pair of outside U-shaped
,, channels 42, 43 disposed at right angles to each other, the ' ; ,
~^~ channels 42, 43 being arranged to register with channels 32, in ~
l ~ the frame men~ers 12, 13 and channel men~ers 25, 26 in the base 10 '
j when assembled. The channels 42, 43 receive the edges of the
~ 30 usual enclosing panels. The inner walls 44, 45 of the channels
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~56897
1 42, 43 are spaced apart, as shown in the drawings, to form an
entrance slot 46 therebetween, which slot aligns with the plate 16
and the mitred joint of the frame members 12, 13. The entrance
slot provides an entrance to an inner post-connector receiving
cavity 47. This cavity has the same transverse cross-section
as post connectors 14, 15. In the embodiment illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2, the post connectors 14, 15 are cylindrical in
c ~ 7 S pO~ g
shape and the cavity 47 is of c~ecp~ing-shape and size, so
that the connector slidably fits into the cavity.
Figure 3 illustrates a horizontal frame member which .
is formed of two pieces of rolled formed steel. The first
piece of the horizontal frame member is mada of L-angle iron to .:
form the outer walls 48, 49 and the second piece is formed to
have a hollow circular shaped wall S0, the ends of the wall ter- ~ ;
minating in wings 51, 52 which are at right angles to each other :~
and form therebetween an entrance slot 53. When nested as shown,
these two pieces are joined together 'by spot welding at intervals.
The wings 51, 52 cooperate with outer walls 48, 49 to ~orm panel ; :
receiving channels. When these two parts are thus assembled,
2~ they are similar to the post construction shown with reference ~
~to Figures l and 2. The post connector is mounted in the hollow : :
body 50 with the grub-screw facing the entrance slot 53. ~
Figure 4 shows a further variation in the shape. It is :
constructed essentially the same as that shown in Figure 3 except ;:~
the second piece has a hollow, substantial rectangular body 54
which nests into the corner o~ the horizontal frame and has the ~ : . -
free ends of sides 59, 60 which are separated to form wings 55, 56 - .
with an entrance slot 57 to provide an entrance into the - ;-
rectangular post-connector receiving cavity 58 formed by the
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30 hollow rectangular body 54. In this illustrated embodiment, ~ . .
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the post connector must be rectangular in cross-section as shown in
Figure 5, to slidably fit into the cavity 58.
The assembling of the frame members and the posts
is clearly illustrated by Figures 1 and 2. As all frames and
posts are assembled in the same manner, it is only necessary
to describe the assembly of one corner of the structure. In
accordance with usual practice, th~ asse~bling would start with
mounting the posts on the base, and then continuing upwardly.
Consequently, only the assembly at one corner has been described.
1~ The ~irst step, of course, is to mount all the plates 16 on
the base 10 at the respective corners and other required locations
at the corners, the plate 16 being mounted at an angle of 45
with shoulders 20, 21 at the base edges and the extension 18 ~
overhanging so that when post 11 is mounted in place the
channels 42, 43 of the post will align with the respective
channels members 25, 26 on the base. The connector 15 is then
mounted in position by first threading extension 30 into threaded
hole 18. The post 11 is then mounted by sliding the connector
body 29 into cavity 46 and lowering post until the bo~tom end
, 20 thereof is engaged by shoulders 20, 21. When so positioned
I grub-screw 31 is tightened to frictionally grip the inner wall -~
-:
~ of thè cavity 47. This is done by a suitable tool entered
,. . ; .` through the entrance slot 46 to turn the screw until suficiently
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tightened to bite into the cavity wall without distorting the
post wall. After mounting all the posts on the base, the
next step is to mount the horizontal frame members.
A pair of horizontal frame members 12, 13 are then
connected together at the mitred corners by means of a L-bar. ~ ~ -
.
As shown, the L-bar 36 is slid into the slot formed by guides
30 34, 35 of the respective frame members and the grub-screws 33
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1 tightened by the appropriate tool entered through the channels 32.
A connector 14 is then mounted in place by threading extension
30 into threaded hole 41 with its grub-screw facing inwardly
so that its tool receiving recess is facing inwardly. The -
frames are then lowered with the connector entering the cavity 47
and the frames are supported on top of the corner post 11. In
this position, the -Elanges formed by grooves 37, 38 overlap the
top end oE the post and prevent twisting movement of the post~
It is also mentioned that tool receiving recess of the grub-
19 screw 31 should be positioned to face entrance slot 46. When
the several parts are appropriately positioned, the grub-screw 31
is tightened to frictionally engage the inner wall of cavity 47. ;~
Although the disclosure describes and illustrates
preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood
that the invention is not restricted to these particular
embodiments. :
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Figures 1 through 5
10 - base
11 - corner post
12 - horizontal ~rame members
13 - horizontal frame members
14 ~
connectors
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16 - mounting plate
16b~ screws
17 - projecting portion
18 - threaded hole
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19 - neck :
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p shoulders
211.:' ,
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24
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26~ .
27 f
. - p panels : :
20; 28~ .
29 ~:cylindrical body - .
:30 ~ a:~ial threaded extension
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31 grub-screw
32 ~
: ~ U shaped channels
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34 7
35 ~ guides
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~ 36 square connector
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: ~ grooves
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39 grub-screw
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40 - entrance slot
41 - threaded hole .
42 7 : ~
f~ channels in post
4 3~
44 7
,~ inner walls of channel
4 5~
46 ~ entrance slot
47 - post connector receiving cavity
48 - outer walls :
49 - outer walls : ~
50 - circular wall ;
51 ~
p wings
5 2 J
53 entrance slot .
5 4 - body
55 1 . . .,-
~7 wings
56J ~.
S 7 - entrance s lot
58 - post-connector receiving cavity
2~1 59 ~
o sides
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