FOLDABLE LEG FRAME ARRANGEMENT OF FOLDABLE TABLE

Abstract

A foldable leg frame arrangement of a foldable table includes two runners extended along two longitudinal sides of a tabletop, a leg frame including a leg folding member, and a reinforcement unit. Each runner has a fastening hole formed at an inner side thereof. The leg folding member has two end portions rotatably inserted into the fastening holes of the runners respectively. The reinforcement unit includes two reinforcing shafts transversely extended from the runners respectively, wherein when the end portions of said leg folding member are rotatably inserted into the fastening holes of the runners respectively, the reinforcing shafts are inserted into the end portions of the leg folding member respectively. Therefor, the reinforcement unit not only forms a double lock configuration to securely mount the leg frame between the runners but also guides the leg frame to be rotated between a folded position and an unfolded position.

Claims

1. A foldable leg frame arrangement of a foldable table having a tabletop, comprising: two runners adapted for extending along two longitudinal sides of the tabletop, wherein each of said runners has a fastening hole formed at an inner side thereof; a leg frame which comprises a leg folding member having two end portions rotatably inserted into said fastening holes of said runners respectively to move between a folded position and an unfolded position; and a reinforcement unit which comprises two reinforcing shafts transversely extended from said runners respectively, wherein when said end portions of said leg folding member are rotatably inserted into said fastening holes of said runners respectively and said reinforcing shafts are inserted into said end portions of said leg folding member respectively, so as to securely mount said leg frame between said runners while guiding said leg frame to be rotated between said folded position and said unfolded position.

2. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 1, wherein said reinforcing shaft is coaxially extended through said fastening hole of said runner.

3. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said runners comprises an inner wall and an outer wall spacedly apart from each other, wherein said fastening hole is formed at said inner wall of said runner.

4. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said runners comprises an inner wall and an outer wall spacedly apart from each other, wherein said fastening hole is formed at said inner wall of said runner.

5. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 3, wherein said reinforcing shaft is extended from said outer wall of said runner to coaxially pass through said fastening hole thereof.

6. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 4, wherein said reinforcing shaft is extended from said outer wall of said runner to coaxially pass through said fastening hole thereof.

7. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 5, wherein said reinforcing shaft is integrally extended from said outer wall of said runner.

8. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 6, wherein said reinforcing shaft is integrally extended from said outer wall of said runner.

9. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 3, wherein said reinforcing shaft is penetrated through said outer wall of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

10. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 4, wherein said reinforcing shaft is penetrated through said outer wall of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

11. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 9, wherein each of said runners further has a guiding hole formed at said outer wall thereof to coaxially align with said fastening hole, such that said reinforcing shaft passes through said guiding hole of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

12. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 10, wherein each of said runners further has a guiding hole formed at said outer wall thereof to coaxially align with said fastening hole, such that said reinforcing shaft passes through said guiding hole of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

13. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 11, wherein each of said reinforcing shafts has an enlarged shaft head and an elongated elastic shaft body extended therefrom, such that said elastic shaft body is slidably passed through said guiding hole to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member until said shaft head is biased against said outer wall of said runner.

14. The foldable leg frame arrangement, as recited in claim 12, wherein each of said reinforcing shafts has an enlarged shaft head and an elongated elastic shaft body extended therefrom, such that said elastic shaft body is slidably passed through said guiding hole to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member until said shaft head is biased against said outer wall of said runner.

15. A foldable table, comprising: an injection mold tabletop; two runners coupled at two longitudinal sides of the tabletop, wherein each of said runners has a fastening hole formed at an inner side thereof; a leg frame which comprises a leg folding member having two end portions rotatably inserted into said fastening holes of said runners respectively to move between a folded position and an unfolded position; and a reinforcement unit which comprises two reinforcing shafts transversely extended from said runners respectively, wherein said end portions of said leg folding member are rotatably inserted into said fastening holes of said runners respectively and said reinforcing shafts are inserted into said end portions of said leg folding member respectively, so as to securely mount said leg frame between said runners while guiding said leg frame to be rotated between said folded position and said unfolded position.

16. The foldable table, as recited in claim 15, wherein each of said runners comprises an inner wall and an outer wall spacedly apart from each other, wherein said fastening hole is formed at said inner wall of said runner and said reinforcing shaft is coaxially extended through said fastening hole of said runner.

17. The foldable table, as recited in claim 16, wherein said reinforcing shaft is integrally extended from said outer wall of said runner.

18. The foldable table, as recited in claim 16, wherein said reinforcing shaft is penetrated through said outer wall of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

19. The foldable table, as recited in claim 18, wherein each of said runners further has a guiding hole formed at said outer wall thereof to coaxially align with said fastening hole, such that said reinforcing shaft passes through said guiding hole of said runner to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member.

20. The foldable table, as recited in claim 19, wherein each of said reinforcing shafts has an enlarged shaft head and an elongated elastic shaft body extended therefrom, such that said elastic shaft body is slidably passed through said guiding hole to insert into said end portion of said leg folding member until said shaft head is biased against said outer wall of said runner.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a foldable table with a foldable leg frame arrangement according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a partially perspective view of the foldable table with the foldable leg frame arrangement according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the foldable leg frame arrangement according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates a first alternative mode of the foldable leg frame arrangement according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates a second alternative mode of the foldable leg frame arrangement according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0033] The following description is disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Preferred embodiments are provided in the following description only as examples and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined in the following description would be applied to other embodiments, alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a foldable table according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the foldable table comprises a tabletop 10, and a foldable leg frame arrangement.

[0035] The tabletop 10, according to the preferred embodiment, is an injection mold tabletop having a top side 11 and a bottom side 12. It is appreciated that the tabletop 10 can be made of rigid material such as wood or other materials.

[0036] The foldable leg frame arrangement comprises two runners 20, a leg frame 30, and a reinforcement unit 40.

[0037] According to the preferred embodiment, the runners 20 are extended along two longitudinal sides of the tabletop 10, wherein each of the runners 20 has a fastening hole 21 formed at an inner side thereof. Accordingly, the two runners 20 are extended along the two longitudinal sides of the tabletop 10 at the bottom side 12 thereof. Preferably, the two runners 20 are partially embedded at the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 when the tabletop 10 is made of plastic by mold injection process.

[0038] The leg frame 30 is pivotally coupled at the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 to pivotally move between a folded position and an unfolded position. As shown in FIG. 1, two leg frames 30 are pivotally coupled at two transverse sides of the tabletop 10 at the bottom side 12 thereof. In the folded position, each of the leg frames 30 is pivotally and upwardly moved to rest on the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10, as shown in FIG. 2. In the unfolded position, each of the leg frames 30 is pivotally and downwardly moved from the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 to transversely extend from the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0039] The leg frame 30 comprises a leg folding member 31 having two end portions 311 rotatably inserted into the fastening holes 21 of the runners 20 respectively, and a leg standing member 32 extended from the leg folding member 31, such that the leg standing member 32 is moved to rest on the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 in the folded position by the rotational movement of the leg folding member 31 with respect to the runners 20. The leg standing member 32 is also moved to transversely extend from the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 in the unfolded position by the rotational movement of the leg folding member 31 with respect to the runners 20, According to the preferred embodiment, each of the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 has a hollow structure.

[0040] The leg frame 30 further comprises a table support 33 having has a table coupling end pivotally coupled at the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10, and a leg support 34 having a leg coupling end pivotally coupled at the leg frame 30, The table support 33 and the leg support 34 are pivotally coupled with each other.

[0041] In particular, the table support 33 is an elongated brace pivotally extended from the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10, wherein the table support 33 further has a first pivot end portion extended opposite to the table coupling end. Accordingly, the table coupling end of the table support 33 can be directly mounted to the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10 or can be pivotally mounted to a transverse support transversely supported between the two runners 20 at the mid-portion of the bottom side 12 of the tabletop 10.

[0042] The leg support 34, preferably formed in a Y-shaped configuration, defines two leg coupling ends pivotally coupled at the leg standing member 32 of the leg frame 30, and further has a second pivot end portion extended opposite to the leg coupling end. Accordingly, the first and second pivot end portions of the table support 33 and the leg support 34 are pivotally coupled with each other.

[0043] The reinforcement unit 40 comprises two reinforcing shafts 41 transversely extended from the runners 30 respectively, wherein when the end portions 311 of the leg folding member 31 are rotatably inserted into the fastening holes 21 of the runners 20 respectively, the reinforcing shafts 41 are coupled at the end portions 311 of the leg folding member 31 respectively. Preferably, the reinforcing shaft 41 is extended from an outer side of the runner 20 and is slidably inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 in a rotatably movable manner. Therefore, the reinforcement unit 40 not only forms a double lock configuration to securely mount the leg frame 30 between the runners 20 but also guides the leg frame 30 to be rotated between the folded position and the unfolded position.

[0044] According to the preferred embodiment, a diameter of the fastening hole 21 is slightly larger than an outer diameter of the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31, such that when the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is inserted into the fastening hole 21, the leg folding member 31 can be rotated with respect to the runner 20. In addition, an inner diameter of the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is slightly larger than a diameter of the reinforcing shaft 41, such that when the reinforcing shaft 41 is inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31, the leg folding member 31 can be rotated with respect to the reinforcing shaft 41. In other words, the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is restricted to rotate between the fastening hole 21 and the reinforcing shaft 41 so as to minimize the stress created between the surrounding edge of the fastening hole 21 and the leg folding member 31, especially when the leg frame 30 is moved at the unfolded position. In addition, the clearance between the surrounding edge of the fastening hole 21 and the leg folding member 31 will be retained to prevent the unstable folding movement of the leg frame 30 between the folded position and the unfolded position. It is worth mentioning that the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is supported by the entire reinforcing shaft 41 to enhance the supportive of the leg frame 30.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing shaft 41 is coaxially extended through the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20, such that when the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is inserted into the fastening hole 21, the reinforcing shaft 41 is inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 at the same time.

[0046] According to the preferred embodiment, each of the runners 20 has a double-wall structure to define an inner wall 22 and an outer wall 23 spacedly apart from each other, wherein the fastening hole 21 is formed at the inner wall 22 of the runner 20. In other words, when the runners 20 are coupled at the longitudinal sides of the tabletop 10, the inner walls 22 of the runner 20 are facing toward each other while the fastening holes 21 of the runners 20 are coaxially aligned with each other.

[0047] The reinforcing shaft 41 is extended from the outer wall 23 of the runner 20 toward the inner wall 22 thereof. In particular, the reinforcing shaft 41 is extended from the outer wall 23 of the runner 20 to coaxially pass through the fastening hole 21 thereof. In other words, a length of the reinforcing shaft 41 is longer than a distance between the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 23 of the runner 20, such that a free end portion of the reinforcing shaft 41 is protruded out of the inner wall 22 of the runner 20 through the fastening hole 21. Preferably, the reinforcing shaft 41 is integrally extended from the outer wall 23 of the runner 20 to the inner wall 22 thereof. It is worth mentioning that the reinforcing shaft 41 is stationary when the leg folding member 31 is rotated with respect to the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 to move the leg frame 30 between the folded position and the unfolded position.

[0048] It is worth mentioning that when the leg frame 20 is moved at the unfolded position, the loading force, i.e. the object on the tabletop 10, is transferred from the tabletop 10 to the runners 20. Therefore, the loading force will substantially be transmitted to the leg frame 20 through the runners 20 and the reinforcing shafts 41 as well, so as to evenly distribute the loading force to the leg frame 20. Since the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is retained between the surrounding edge of the fastening hole 21 and the reinforcing shaft 41, the leg frame 20 can be pivotally moved between the folded position and the unfolded position in a stable manner, so as to prevent any wobbling movement of the leg frame 20 during the folding/unfolding operation thereof.

[0049] FIG. 4 illustrates a first alternative mode of the reinforcing shaft 41′ which is integrally extended from the inner wall 22 of the runner 20. Accordingly, the reinforcing shaft 41′ has a hollow structure and defines a reinforcing channel 411′ therewithin, wherein the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is slidably inserted into the reinforcing channel 411′ in a rotatably movable manner.

[0050] The reinforcing shaft 41′ is integrally extended from the inner wall 22 of the runner 20 around the fastening hole 21 thereof, wherein the reinforcing channel 411′ is coaxially aligned with the fastening hole 21. Preferably, a diameter of the fastening hole 21 is the same as a diameter of the reinforcing channel 411′, such that the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is slidably inserted into the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 through the reinforcing channel 411′ of the reinforcing shaft 41′ in a rotatably movable manner. It is worth mentioning that the engaging surface area between the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 and the reinforcing channel 411′ of the reinforcing shaft 41′ will be increased to minimize the stress created between the surrounding edge of the fastening hole 21 and the leg folding member 31, especially when the leg frame 30 is moved at the unfolded position. In addition, the clearance between the surrounding edge of the fastening hole 21 and the leg folding member 31 will be retained to prevent the unstable folding movement of the leg frame 30 between the folded position and the unfolded position. it is worth mentioning that the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is supported by the entire reinforcing shaft 41′ to enhance the supportive of the leg frame 30.

[0051] FIG. 5 illustrates a second alternative mode of the reinforcing shaft 41″ which is penetrated through the outer wall 23 of the runner 20 to insert into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31. Preferably, the reinforcing shaft 41″ is detachably coupled at the runner 20 to engage with the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31. Accordingly, each of the runners 20 further has a guiding hole 24 fanned at the outer wall 23 thereof to coaxially align with the fastening hole 21, such that the reinforcing shaft 41″ passes through the guiding hole 24 and the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 to insert into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31.

[0052] Each of the reinforcing shafts 41″ has an enlarged shaft head 411″ and an elongated elastic shaft body 412″ extended therefrom, such that the elastic shaft body 412″ of the reinforcing shaft 41″ is slidably passed through the guiding hole 24 and the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 to insert into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 until the shaft head 411″ of the reinforcing shaft 41″ is biased against the outer wall 23 of the runner 20. The length of the elastic shaft body 412″ is larger than the distance between the inner wall 22 of the runner 20 and the outer wall 23 thereof, such that the elastic shaft body 412″ is long enough to pass through the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 when the elastic shaft body 412″ is inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31. It is worth mentioning that the elastic shaft body 412″ has a deformable surface, such that when the elastic shaft body 412″ is inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31, the deformable surface of the elastic shaft body 412″ is deformed to engage with an inner surface of the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 to securely couple the reinforcing shaft 41″ with the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31.

[0053] Accordingly, the elastic shaft body 412″ has a V-shaped configuration defining two elastic body portions, wherein when the elastic shaft body 412″ is inserted into the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31, the two elastic body portions of the elastic shaft body 412″ are pressed toward each other to bias against the inner surface of the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31. It is worth mentioning that when the leg folding member 31 is rotated with respect to the fastening hole 21 of the runner 20 to move the leg frame between the folded position and the unfolded position, the reinforcing shaft 41″ is rotated correspondingly by the leg folding member 31. In addition, the end portion 311 of the leg folding member 31 is supported by the entire reinforcing shaft 41″ to enhance the supportive of the leg frame 30.

[0054] One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.

[0055] It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.