Chairs and seats – Having detachably interfitting parts or components; i.e.,... – Interfitted back and bottom or back frame and bottom frame
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-26
2004-06-22
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Having detachably interfitting parts or components; i.e.,...
Interfitted back and bottom or back frame and bottom frame
C297S411450, C297S411350, C297S440200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06752464
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a modular furniture frame, more particularly to a modular furniture frame that is easy to assemble and disassemble so as to facilitate transport of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional modular sofa is shown to comprise a support base
10
, a seat
11
mounted on top of the support base
10
, a pair of armrest units
12
mounted on opposite lateral sides of the seat
11
, a leg cushion
13
disposed in front of the seat
11
, and a backrest
14
disposed behind the seat
11
. The seat
11
, the armrest units
12
and the backrest
14
are relatively wide and are covered with soft leather so as to provide comfort to users.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, each of the armrest units
12
includes an upright support member
121
and a horizontal armrest member
122
that are connected integrally to each other. When assembling an armrest unit
12
, a pair of fasteners
123
must first pass through the seat
11
before engaging the upright support member
121
so as to secure the armrest unit
12
on the respective lateral side of the seat
11
. The armrest member
122
extends horizontally from a top edge of the upright support member
121
so as to provide a comfortable resting place for the user's arm.
The support base
10
includes a parallel pair of upright side frame parts
101
, a pair of front coupling members
102
provided respectively on front ends of the side frame parts
101
, and a pair of rear coupling members
103
provided respectively on rear ends of the side frame parts
101
. Each of the side frame parts
101
has the bottom side of the upright support member
121
of one of the armrest units
12
secured thereon through a pair of vertically extending fasteners
124
.
The leg cushion
13
is connected to the front coupling members
102
, whereas the backrest
14
is connected to the rear coupling members
103
.
Each of the front coupling members
102
has a front end mounted with a vertically extending mounting plate
105
. The mounting plate
105
has an L-shaped cross-section, and a front side for mounting the leg cushion
13
thereon.
Each of the rear coupling members
103
is generally triangular in shape, and has a downwardly and forwardly inclining edge that faces toward the leg cushion
13
. Each of the rear coupling members
103
is formed with a stop block
104
that projects from an outer side face thereof.
With further reference to
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the backrest
14
includes a backrest member
15
and a pair of engaging sleeves
16
(only one is visible in the drawings), each of which is mounted fixedly on a respective lateral side of a lower portion of the backrest member
15
. Each engaging sleeve
16
includes a sleeve part
161
and a locking member
164
.
The sleeve part
161
converges in an upward direction, and includes a base wall
162
and a pair of limiting walls
163
that project respectively from front and rear edges of the base wall
162
and that are bent toward each other. The base wall
162
is secured on the backrest member
15
.
The locking member
164
is generally inverted U-shaped, and is mounted on top of the sleeve part
161
prior to mounting the sleeve part
161
on the backrest member
15
. The locking member
164
includes a top wall part
165
disposed on top of the sleeve part
161
, an inner wall part
166
extending downwardly from an inner edge of the top wall part
165
and to be disposed between the base wall
162
and the backrest member
15
, and an outer wall part
167
extending downwardly from an outer edge of the top wall part
165
that is opposite to the inner edge. The outer wall part
167
has a distal end formed with a stop flange
168
that extends toward the base wall
162
.
During assembly, the sleeve part
161
of each engaging sleeve
16
is sleeved on the corresponding rear coupling member
103
such that the stop flange
168
abuts against a bottom edge of the stop block
104
, thereby locking the engaging sleeve
16
to the corresponding rear coupling member
103
. Therefore, to detach the backrest
14
from the support base
10
, the stop flanges
168
must be pulled outwardly to disengage from the stop blocks
104
, and the backrest
14
must be pulled upwardly at the same time. Since the backrest
14
is rather wide and heavy, and since the engaging sleeves
16
are located at the lower portion of the backrest member
15
and are thus not easy to reach, removal of the backrest
14
cannot be easily conducted by a single person.
Apart from the aforesaid disadvantage, the following are other shortcomings of the conventional modular sofa:
1. the armrest member
122
of each armrest unit
12
extends horizontally from the top edge of the upright support member
121
, the width of the modular sofa is increased accordingly, which can hinder passage through narrow alleys, elevator doors, entrances, exits, etc., thereby demanding detachment of the armrest units
12
during transport. Because the upright support members
121
of the armrest units
12
are fastened to the support base
10
by means of the fasteners
124
, removal of the armrest units
12
is a rather awkward and time-consuming task.
2. The leg cushion
13
is supported solely by the mounting plates
105
on the front coupling members
102
. No support is provided to the central section of the leg cushion
13
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a modular furniture frame having a backrest frame unit that can be easily assembled and disassembled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular furniture frame having armrest frame units that can be easily assembled and disassembled.
Accordingly, a modular furniture frame of this invention comprises a seat frame unit and a backrest frame unit.
The seat frame unit includes a parallel pair of upright side frame parts and a pair of rear coupling members. Each of the side frame parts has front and rear ends opposite to each other in a first direction. The side frame parts are spaced apart from each other in a second direction transverse to the first direction. Each of the rear coupling members has a base strip that extends in the first direction and that is connected to the rear end of a respective one of the side frame parts, and a pair of upright tines that extend integrally from the base strip and that cooperate to form an insert notch having a width which increases in a direction away from the base strip.
The backrest frame unit includes a backrest member having a lower end to be disposed between the rear coupling members, and a pair of engaging members mounted respectively on opposite lateral sides of the lower end of the backrest member. Each of the engaging members includes an inner plate mounted on the respective one of the lateral sides of the backrest member, and an outer plate having an intermediate insert portion mounted on the inner plate. The insert portion is inserted removably into and is configured to mate with the insert notch in an adjacent one of the rear coupling members. The insert portion has front and rear edges opposite to each other in the first direction. The outer plate further has a pair of wing portions that extend respectively in the first direction from the front and rear edges of the insert portion and that cooperate with the inner plate to form a pair of insert grooves. The insert grooves receive removably and respectively the tines of the adjacent one of the rear coupling members.
Preferably, the modular furniture frame further comprises a pair of armrest frame units, each of which includes an upright support member and an armrest member. The upright support member extends in the first direction, is mounted detachably on the seat frame unit, and is disposed at an outer lateral side of a respective one of the side frame parts. The support member has a top side provided with a pair of upright insert tubes. The armrest member is mounted detachably on top of the support member,
Cuomo Peter M.
Garrett Erika
Ladas & Parry
Shin Yeh Enterprise Co., Ltd.
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