Abstract
Load-bearing furniture (such as beds, tables, desks, benches, and the like) made from lightweight, foldable material, comprised of base supports with beveled crenellations along certain top edges of the supports, designed to securely receive beams formed in the shape of flanged triangular prisms, said beams optionally featuring ventilation holes to facilitate air circulation through beam cavities.
Claims
1. An item of load-bearing furniture made from lightweight, foldable, and typically inexpensive materials (such as corrugated containerboard) comprised of: one or more supports with bevelled crenellations along at least two upper edges; one or more hollow beams in the form of a flanged triangular prism, each made from a planar panel divided into at least five sections along four score lines, with the flange portion comprised of a minimum of two sections of the panel whereby the surfaces of their interior faces are in contact with one another and nearly coplanar; arrangement of said beam(s) such that they are laid across the crenelated supports with their triangular cross sections nesting between the bevels, and the flanges being received by the slots formed between the bases of the crenellations; and whereby optional notches in the edges of the flanges allow portions of the flange edge to extend beyond the bases of the crenellations, thereby restricting the lateral displacement of both the crenellated supports and the beams.
2. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the item is a platform bed, and whereby the hollow beams optionally feature ventilation holes for the purpose removing a buildup of water vapor and/or condensation from the underside of the mattress of which the platform bed is supporting.
3. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the item is a table.
4. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the item is a desk.
5. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the item is a bench.
6. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the sequence of bevelled crenellations of the support(s) are inclined and the corresponding top surfaces of the beams collectively form an inclined surface.
7. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the sequence of bevelled crenellations of the support(s) are varied in height and angles such that the corresponding top surfaces of the beams collectively form a segmented surface with an overall curved profile.
8. An item of load-bearing furniture of claim 1 wherein the base supports use any of several prior art techniques to form a box end on their bottom side (such as half slotted, full overlap slotted, snap lock, auto bottom, bellows, tuck and tongue, etc . . . ).
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a whole perspective drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the load-bearing furniture in the form of an assembled platform bed 1.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a whole perspective drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the load-bearing furniture in the form of an assembled table 2.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a detailed isometric view of a first configuration of one of the base supports 3 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a detailed isometric view of a second configuration of one of the base supports 4 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0013] FIG. 5A is a detailed isometric view illustrating the unfolded state of a beam 8 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0014] FIG. 5B is a detailed isometric view illustrating a transitional state of a partially-folded beam 8 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0015] FIG. 5C a detailed isometric view illustrating a further transitional state of a partially-folded beam 6 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0016] FIG. 5D a detailed isometric view illustrating a fully-folded beam 6 of the assembled platform bed 1.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective drawing illustrating a partially assembled platform bed 1 with seven of sixteen beams 8 placed into their respective base supports 3 & 4.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective drawing illustrating a partially assembled table 2 with two of six beams 12 placed into their respective positions on the base supports 13.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a whole perspective drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the load-bearing furniture in the form of an assembled platform bed 14 featuring optional ventilation holes 15.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0020] This invention is a means of constructing a type of load-bearing furniture through the use of lightweight, foldable, and typically inexpensive materials.
EXAMPLES
[0021] Referencing [FIG. 1], a preferred embodiment in the form of an assembled platform bed 1 is shown fully assembled. [FIG. 2] shows another preferred embodiment in the form of a fully assembled table.
[0022] As [FIG. 3] & [FIG. 4] show in isometric views, base supports 3 & 4 of the platform bed 1 each have different numbers of crenellations 5 with corresponding bevels 6, as well as non-crenellated edges 7 running parallel to the assembled beams 8 (which are shown in FIG. 6). [FIG. 5A] through [FIG. 5D] show isometric views of the substantially planar foldable material that comprises each of the beams 8, in progressive stages of being folded into it's completed form. [FIG. 5A] shows the material that will comprise the beam with scoring lines 9 & 10 running lengthwise across the material, and shows several optional notches 11, cut into the unfolded beam 8. [FIG. 5B] shows the material being folded in a concave manner relative to the isometric view along both outer scoring lines 9, with the portions of the beam that will form the flanges now raised at angle relative to the rest of the material. [FIG. 5C] shows the material being further folded, this time in a convex manner relative to the isometric view along both inner scoring lines 10. [FIG. 5D] shows the angles of the folds along both inner scoring lines 10 being increased until the inner faces of the flange portions of beam 8 come in contact with one another and are then nearly coplanar, completing the extent of folding. [FIG. 6] shows a perspective view of a partially assembled platform bed (as in 1 of [FIG. 1] above), with a number of supports 3 & 4 arranged side by side in two groups, such that the beveled crenellations form voids capable of securely receiving the fully folded and formed beams 8. In the case of [FIG. 6], seven of sixteen beams 8 necessary to complete this embodiment of a platform bed (as in 1 of [FIG. 1] above) are shown inserted into and between the crenellations 5 and their respective bevels 6, and with the notches 11 on the beams 8 corresponding to the bottom edges of the crenellations 5. It may be noted that the placement of the supports is deliberately staggered in different rows, so that the load-bearing surface created by the adjacent beams 8 cannot be separated along the boundaries of the supports 3 & 4 under normal use.
[0023] Referencing [FIG. 7], we see a similar depiction of a perspective view of a partially assembled table (as in 2 of [FIG. 2] above) with two supports 13 arranged opposite one another, such that the beveled crenellations form voids capable of securely receiving the fully folded and formed beams 12. As can be seen, the supports 13 need not be rectilinear, and are in this embodiment in the form of a vertical triangular column with interior brace, with each support 13 made from a single piece folded along six parallel scores, allowing the outboard edges to be reenforced with double thickness. In the case of [FIG. 7], two of six beams 12 necessary to complete this embodiment of a table (as in 2 of [FIG. 2] above) are shown inserted into and between the crenellations 5 and their respective bevels 6. Of note is that the angles of the bevels and depth of the crenellations may be different for different kinds of furniture to accommodate and balance the relative needs of loads vs. clearance. In the case of the table or desk, in which space to accommodate the user's legs is necessary, the triangular void in the prismatic beam may be more obtuse to facilitate greater clearance. Also of note, to eliminate a rough or sharp edge from contacting the legs of users seated at a table or desk of the present invention, one side of the flange may be longer than the other, allowing for it to be folded across and back up, so as to present a relatively smooth, finished surface on the underside of the beams, as illustrated in the beams 12 in [FIG. 7]. The crenellations and bevels could also be arranged to achieve a sloped or curved combined surface of the beams on other embodiments of the present invention.
[0024] [FIG. 8] shows a preferred embodiment in the form of an assembled platform bed 14 (as in 1 of [FIG. 1] above), however in this embodiment, the inclusion of optional ventilation holes 15 are shown along the top surfaces of the assembled beams to prevent an accumulation of moisture and humidity on the undersurface of any prior art mattress supported by the platform bed. By providing access to the beam cavities 16, the ventilation holes 15 provide a pathway for drier ambient air to circulate and reduce the humidity along the mattress base.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
[0025] U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,464 (STEUER, NF) Oct. 19, 1965. [0026] U.S. Pat. No. 9,585,482 (ROTHOLZ, Z) Mar. 7, 2017. [0027] U.S. Pat. No. 9,701,090 (ROTHOLZ, Z) Jul. 11, 2017. [0028] U.S. Pat. No. 9,975,307 (ROTHOLZ, Z) May 22, 2018. [0029] U.S. Ser. No. 10/578,142 (ROTHOLZ, Z) Mar. 3, 2020.
Non Patent Literature
[0030] (Science 14 Aug. 2020: Vol. 369, Issue 6505, pp. 863-866 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc7239). [0031] (DARVILL, TIMOTHY C., 1987, Prehistoric Britain. London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-03951-4).
