Supports – Hold-down
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-30
2001-04-24
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Hold-down
C024S298000, C248S499000, C248S510000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220562
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
In general, the present invention relates to the technical field of devices for preventing the inadvertent tipping of furniture. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices wherethrough furniture which is placed generally against a wall is prevented from tipping away therefrom.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Furniture such as chests of drawers, bookcases, television carts, etc., have been very widely commonly used in homes for their intended purposes. Unfortunately, pursuant to reports by the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission, thousands of injuries and several deaths have occurred to children as a result of such furniture being tipped over. It is reported that most of these injuries involved furniture with drawers such as dressers and chests of drawers and, further, that most of these injuries occurred to children under the age of 5. It is believed that young children try to pull themselves up or climb the chests of drawers or bookcases thereby causing them to tip over.
As a result of these reports and current awareness of the problem, some furniture manufacturers have been asked to modify the design of their furniture so as to hopefully prevent or decrease the possibility that the furniture could be tipped over. As can be appreciated, however, furniture such as chests of drawers, television carts and bookcase shelves have been standardized for many years and modifications, for example, to the dimensions of such furniture for preventing inadvertent tipping, in general, makes such furniture unusable or cumbersome for their intended purpose and are essentially unacceptable to typical consumers. As a result, it is recommended and most preferable that such furniture be placed as far back as possible against a wall and that braces or anchors be used to secure the furniture to the floor or wall. Although such furniture anchors and/or braces can be effective in preventing the furniture from tipping over, they must not be cumbersome, difficult to install, or expensive, so that they will readily and widely be used by most consumers.
Accordingly, a need exists for a furniture tipping restraint which can easily be installed, which would not detract from the appearance of the furniture, is generally inexpensive, and which is effective in helping to prevent furniture from inadvertently being tipped over and potentially causing injury.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome the above-discussed problems associated with furniture inadvertently being tipped over and to provide a furniture tipping restraint which meets the above-discussed needs.
The present invention overcomes such problems by providing a furniture tipping restraint which is adapted to be attached between the back wall of a piece of furniture and the house wall whereagainst the furniture is located such that the furniture is restrained from easily being tipped over away from the wall. The furniture tipping restraint includes a first anchor which is attachable to a house wall adjacent the location whereat the piece of furniture is to be located. The anchor is attached to the wall preferably using a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other equivalent fastener. A second anchor is provided and is attached to the back wall of the piece of furniture with a screw, nail or other suitable fastener. Thereafter, after locating the piece of furniture generally against the house wall and in close proximity where it will ultimately be located, thereby also placing the first and second anchors generally close to one another, a restraint strap is extended between the first and second anchors and is attached thereto thereby essentially restraining or flexibly attaching the piece of furniture to the house wall. The restraint strap is generally elongate and flexible for allowing the final positioning of the piece of furniture as may be desired. The restraint strap is minimized in its length so that, in the event the piece of furniture is inadvertently caused to start tipping, it will provide a force backwardly toward the wall. Because the restraint strap is maintained at a minimum length, the required force backwardly toward the wall to prevent tipping is minimized since it is applied to the furniture before the center of gravity of the furniture reaches the plane after which the furniture will continue tipping or fall over. This required force is further minimized by locating the furniture tipping restraint on the furniture back wall vertically as high as possible.
Preferably, the restraint strap is made of flexible nylon or plastic and is adapted to extend through holes in the first and the second anchors. The restraint strap includes a loop clamp whereby, after it is extended through the anchor holes, a first end of the restraint strap is attached to the other end or portion of the restraint strap thereby forming a loop tying together the first and second anchors. The second end of the restraint strap is detachably attachable by the loop clamp so that, if one desires to move the furniture, the restraint strap is merely removed from the anchors thereby freeing the piece of furniture for moving as may be desired. The loop clamp is preferably attachable substantially along any portion of the restraint strap so that the loop length can be varied and minimized. More preferably, the loop clamp includes an aperture wherethrough the second end of the restraint strap is received and pulled through for minimizing the overall loop length. Yet more preferably, the clamping aperture is keyhole shaped having a keyhole slot and the restraint strap second end includes a plurality of beads located in staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap such that, upon threading the restraint strap second end through the keyhole shaped aperture and reaching the desired loop length, the restraint strap is forced into engagement within the keyhole slot so as to be frictionally engaged therein and such that the beads of the restraint strap essentially positively lock the restraint strap in the keyhole slot. For releasing and removing the restraint strap, the restraint strap second end is merely pushed out of the keyhole slot and the strap second end is pulled out of the keyhole shaped aperture thus disrupting the loop and allowing the removal of the restraint strap from the anchors.
In a second embodiment, the restraint strap is provided with a securement portion whereby the restraint strap is directly attachable to a wall or a piece of furniture. The securement portion includes a hole for receiving a fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other suitable fastener. An attachment clamp is provided and also has a securement portion for selectively attaching the attachment clamp directly to a wall or piece of furniture. Similarly, the securement portion of the attachment clamp includes a hole for receiving a fastener such as a screw, drywall anchor, nail or other suitable fastener for thereby attaching the attachment clamp to either a wall or piece of furniture. The restraint strap is selectively attachable to the attachment clamp for thereby essentially attaching the piece of furniture to the wall and restraining it from tipping over and away from the wall. Preferably, the attachment clamp includes an aperture wherethrough the restraint strap is received and is selectively frictionally engaged for detachably attaching the restraint strap to the attachment clamp. Thus, unlike the first embodiment, in this embodiment a loop is not created by the restraint strap but, rather, the restraint strap is merely directly selectively attached to the attachment clamp. More preferably, the attachment clamp aperture is keyhole shaped with a keyhole slot and the restraint strap includes a plurality of beads located in a staggered relation longitudinally along the restraint strap.
In operation, after, for example, the restraint strap is attached to the house wall and the attachment clamp is attached to the back wall of a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers and the c
B. Walter & Co., Inc.
King Anita M.
Le Tan
Pappas George
LandOfFree
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