KD Chair and Stool Construction

Abstract

A ready-to-assemble upholstered and non-upholstered chair consisting of factory assembled sub-assemblies reducing the number of overall parts and assembly hardware which decreases the packaged cubic measure allowing more units to be loaded into shipping containers and trailers, inventoried in warehouses and distribution centers and displayed in retail outlets thereby reducing transportation and handling costs, while simplifying and expediting the assembly process. The invention includes a seat box sub-assembly so constructed to allow a portion of the chair back leg sub-assembly to nest therein reducing the package profile and cubic measure, as well as a front leg sub-assembly. The front leg and back leg sub-assemblies are assembled utilizing a left and right tenoned side rail which inserts into mortises on the front and back leg assemblies. The leg sub-assemblies are secured with a metal bolt, threaded on each end, housed longitudinally within a routed channel running on the exterior face of each side rail. The bolt is secured by threading one end into the pre-installed knurled nut in the back leg sub-assembly and a hex socket T-nut and washer on the face of the front leg sub-assembly. The seat box sub-assembly is fitted over the front leg sub-assembly and the left and right side rails and secured on the underside with metal bolts. With the factory manufactured pre-assemblies resulting in fewer joints, the assembled chair is stronger eliminating potential racking. On upholstered chairs, the removable outer decorative back and seat cover are positioned over the chair back and chair seat and quickly Velcro's into place. Chair covers can be removed for cleaning or retailers can sell additional covers in a variety of materials and designs without needing to stock additional chairs. Once assembled, the invention offers the distinction that no assembly hardware is visible, giving the chair a “factory made” look.

Claims

1. A ready-to-assemble chair utilizing factory manufactured sub-assemblies reducing the total number of parts needing assembly and reducing therein the cubic volume of said unit when packaged, consisting of: a pre-assembled seat box sub-assembly enclosed on three (3) sides and the top seat surface, either upholstered or not depending on the chair style, while open on the remaining side and bottom surface, a chair back leg sub-assembly consisting of two (2) parallel legs with a determined number of structural and ornamental cross rails based on the height and style of the chair and upholstered or not depending on the style of the chair; a pre-assembled front leg sub-assembly.

2. A ready-to-assemble chair according to claim 1 whereby the embodiment of the invention reduces the cubic size of the carton in which the embodiment is packaged, wherein the chair back sub-assembly nests within the seat box sub-assembly reducing said cubic measure of the unit when packaged for shipment, handling and sale;

3. A ready-to-assembly chair according to claim 1 wherein the reduced size of the packaged embodiment maximizes the number of units which can be loaded into shipping containers and trailers, stocked in warehouses and distribution centers and displayed in retail outlets, thereby tangibly reducing logistics costs on a per unit basis

4. A ready-to-assemble chair according to claim 1 wherein the aforementioned sub-assemblies significantly reduce the number of parts required to assemble said chair.

5. A ready-to-assemble chair according to claim 1 wherein the aforementioned sub-assemblies reduce the amount of time required to assemble or disassemble said chair.

6. A ready-to-assemble chair according to claim 1 wherein the assembly process utilizing the metal threaded attaching rod, hex socket T-nut and washer, and metal knurled nut in combination with both the front leg sub-assembly and rear leg sub-assembly produce a stronger, more stable and reliable construction.

7. A ready-to-assemble chair according to claim 1 wherein the method of construction hides fastening hardware from view, eliminating the look of “knockdown” or “KD” furniture and resulting in a factory manufactured appearance.

8. A ready-to-assemble chair with removable decorative outer back and seat covers for easy installation and removal for cleaning, replacement from wear or updating the style.

9. A ready-to-assemble method of construction which simplifies retightening of any of the four (4) joints that might loosen over time and cause any racking by removing the 2 bolts securing the seat box assembly, lifting off the seat box, retightening the now exposed two (2) hex socket T-nuts and replacing the seat box assembly returning the chair to its original strength and stability.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 is perspective view of assembled chair.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows view of factory chair back pre-assembly.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows view of factory front leg pre-assembly.

[0031] FIG. 4 shows view of underside of seat box factory pre-assembly.

[0032] FIG. 5 is detail drawing of connecting rails, connecting rods, washer and securing nuts.

[0033] FIG. 6 is exploded view of chair structural assembly.

[0034] FIG. 7 shows view of seat box installation to chair frame.

[0035] FIG. 8 shows back and seat cover attachment.

[0036] FIG. 9 shows chair back leg-assembly nested in seat box assembly to reduce package size.

[0037] FIG. 10 illustrates typical ready-to-assemble cartoning of invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] FIG. 1 shows the final assembled preferred embodiment of a ready-to-assemble chair 12 of the present invention. The chair is composed of three (3) sub-assemblies: the factory assembled back sub-assembly, FIG. 2, (1, 1A); the factory assembled front leg sub-assembly, FIG. 3, (3); and the factory assembled seat box sub-assembly, FIG. 4, (2). The preassembled back assembly 1 consists of a mortise 19 on the interior of each leg of the assembly with a knurled nut 23 inserted within the mortise 19 to receive the threaded end 22 of the metal attaching rod 7. The front leg sub-assembly consists of the two front legs and a top cross rail existing on the same plane and assembled in a horseshoe shape. The left and right top corners have a hole 14 bored through, through which the attaching rod 7 is be fed to attach the back leg sub-assembly to the front leg sub-assembly. Washer 10 and hex socket T-nut 8 will be placed over the hole onto the attaching rod threaded end 7 as part of the assembly process. The preassembled seat box 2 is a three-sided box, wherein the top face of the box attached to the edges of the adjacent sides becomes the sitting surface. The sitting surface can be manufactured from a number of materials such as, but not limited to, the following: a solid surface, an upholstery web surface or an upholstery spring surface. The open bottom of the seat box sub-assembly FIG. 4 has one open side. The open side allows either the top or bottom the chair leg sub-assembly 1 to be nested inside the seat box sub-assembly as shown in FIG. 9 to reduce the height dimension of the shipping carton and, therefore, the overall cubic measure of the invention.

[0039] In FIG. 6, the structural assembly of the embodiment is shown, whereby a tenoned end (20) of the side rail (7) is inserted into the mortise (19) of the back leg sub-assembly (1). The side rails (7) are positioned in the mortises 19 so that the Velcro strips 9 are facing inward. The threaded attaching rod 7 is next positioned in the rabbeted groove 21 running longitudinally the length of the side rail 6 and screwed into the factory installed knurled nut 23 within the mortise 20. The side rail and attaching rod are inserted into the mortise on the interior side of the front leg sub-assembly 3 with the threaded end of the attaching rod 7 protruding through the bored hole 14 on the front leg assembly 3. Washers 10 are slid over the end of both attaching rods now protruding through the hole on the front surface of the leg sub-assembly 3. See also FIG. 7 (8). The hex socket T-nut 8 is attached to the protruding ends of each attaching rod 7 and tightened with maximum manual torque using wrench 24 insuring a rigid and static structure. The seat box sub-assembly 2 is placed over the structural frame made by the assembly of the front and back leg sub-assemblies and the side rails as shown in FIG. 7 and secured in place with bolts 11 in pre-bored holes 13. Because the assembly has been reduced to four joints (two in the back where the back leg sub-assembly is joined to the two rear facing side rail tenons 20 and the front leg sub-assembly is joined to the forward facing side rail tenons 20) the chance the chair can rack and become racked is significantly reduced over constructions with a high number of individual parts, each connected singly making an inordinately high number of joints susceptible to loosening and racking. The attaching rods 7, having significantly more tensile strength than wood dowels secured with glue and/or wood screws or cams and cam bolts, and, in conjunction with the hex socket T-nut 8, washer 10, and knurled nut 23, can be tightened with sufficient torque to assure a rigid and stable assembly. The final step in the assembly of this embodiment of the invention is the installation of the decorative covers. As shown in FIG. 8, the back decorative cover 4 is slide over chair back sub-assembly 1 and the seat decorative cover 5 is wrapped around seat box sub-assembly 2 and Velcro's to the pre-attached Velcro strips 9.

[0040] It should be noted that the embodiments discussed above, the upholstered version of the embodiment in particular, are used to illustrate the invention and do not represent the complete range of the embodiments of the invention. The invention and its features may be used and adapted without departing from the scope of the invention by those knowledgeable and experienced in the field. Therefore, the invention is not limited in its application to the descriptions and details described herein, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.