Locking member for a table leg

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9591918-B2
Application number	US-201514872005-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2015
Priority date	Jan 13, 2012
Publication date	Mar 14, 2017
Grant date	Mar 14, 2017

Abstract

A table may be sized and configured to nest with an adjacent table to reduce a height of a plurality of stacked tables in a nested configuration. The table may include a table top with a round or circular configuration and the table top may have a receiving portion, a downwardly extending lip, a contact surface and an engaging portion. The contact surface may have a ring-shaped configuration and be sized and configured to contact an upper surface of a table top of an adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table. The engaging portion may also have a ring-shaped configuration and may be sized and configured to be disposed in a receiving portion of a table top of the adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A table comprising:
a table top;
a frame connected to the table top;
a table leg movable between an extended position and a collapsed position relative to the table top;
an engaging member connected to the table leg; and
a brace comprising:
a first end of the brace connected to the frame;
a slot in a body of the brace, the engaging member disposed within the slot and movable within the slot when the table leg is moved between the extended and collapsed positions;
a receiving portion in a second end of the brace; and
a biasing member sized and configured to bias the table leg into a locked position when the table leg is in the extended position, the biasing member extending along at least a portion a length of the body of the brace, the biasing member comprising:
a first portion of the biasing member connected to a first portion of the brace; and
a second portion of the biasing member disposed in the receiving portion, the second portion of the biasing member capable of moving within the receiving portion relative to a second portion of the body of the brace.

2. The table as in claim 1 , further comprising an engagement surface of the biasing member, the engagement surface of the biasing member sized and configured to engage the engaging member, the biasing member sized and configured to maintain the engaging member in a fixed position within the slot when the table leg is in the extended position.

3. The table as in claim 1 , further comprises a receiving portion of the slot that is disposed at an angle relative to a body of the slot, the biasing member sized and configured to bias the engaging member into the receiving portion when the table leg is in the extended position.

4. The table as in claim 3 , wherein the biasing member is capable of biasing the engaging member into the receiving portion when the engaging member moves within the body of the slot towards the receiving portion of the slot.

5. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the biasing member is pivotally connected to the body of the brace and the second portion of the biasing member is movable within a channel in a second end of the brace.

6. The table as in claim 5 , wherein the second portion of the biasing member is disposed in a first position within the channel when the table leg is disposed in the locked position; and
wherein the second portion of the biasing member is capable of moving within the channel when the table leg is moved between the extended and collapsed positions.

7. The table as in claim 1 , further comprising a channel disposed in the brace, the first portion of the biasing member pivotally connected to the body of the brace and the second portion of the biasing member disposed in the channel.

8. The table as in claim 7 , wherein the channel is disposed in a second end of the brace; and
wherein the biasing member is movable between a first position and a second position within the channel.

9. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the slot in the body of the brace is aligned along a first axis and the biasing member is aligned along a second axis, the first axis and the second axis partially overlapping and disposed at an angle when the engaging member is disposed in a receiving portion of the slot.

10. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the engaging member is disposed in a first position within the slot when the table leg is disposed in the collapsed position;
wherein the biasing member is disposed in a first position when the table leg is disposed in the collapsed position;
wherein the engaging member is disposed within a second position within a receiving portion of the slot when the table leg is disposed in the extended position; and
wherein the biasing member is disposed in the first position when the table leg is disposed in the extended position.

11. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the slot has a generally J-shaped configuration with a receiving portion that is sized and configured to receive the engaging member when the table leg is in the extended position.

12. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the biasing member comprises a spring, a first portion of the spring rotatably connected to the body of the brace in a fixed position proximate the slot and a second portion of the spring disposed within a channel in an end of the brace, the second portion of the spring capable of moving within the channel as the table leg is moved between the extended and collapsed positions.

13. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the table is a round table that is sized and configured to nest with an adjacent round table to reduce a height of a plurality of stacked tables in a nested configuration, each table of a plurality of stacked tables being substantially identical.

14. The table as in claim 13 , further comprising:
a receiving portion at least partially formed in the upper surface of the table top, the receiving portion having a generally circular configuration;
a lip extending downwardly from the table top, the lip having a generally circular configuration;
a contact surface in a first lower portion of the lip, the contact surface sized and configured to contact an upper surface of a table top of an adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table, the contact surface having a generally ring-shaped configuration; and
an engaging portion in a second lower portion of the lip, the engaging portion sized and configured to be disposed in a receiving portion of a table top of the adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table, the engaging portion having a generally ring-shaped configuration.

15. The table as in claim 14 , further comprising a handle disposed in an outer wall of the lip, the handle sized and configured to facilitate separation of a table from an adjacent table when the tables are stacked in the nested configuration.

16. The table as in claim 1 , wherein the table top has a generally circular configuration, the table top further comprising:
a receiving portion at least partially formed in the upper surface of the table top, the receiving portion having a generally circular configuration;
a downwardly extending lip having a generally circular configuration;
a contact surface in a first lower portion of the lip, the contact surface sized and configured to contact an upper surface of a table top of an adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table, the contact surface having a generally ring-shaped configuration; and
an engaging portion in a second lower portion of the lip, the engaging portion sized and configured to be disposed in a receiving portion of a table top of the adjacent table when the table is nested with the adjacent table, the engaging portion having a generally ring-shaped configuration.

17. The table as in claim 16 , wherein a circumference of the lip is generally equal to a circumference of the engaging portion; and
wherein a circumference of the contact surface is less than the circumference of the lip and the engaging portion.

18. A table as in claim 16 , further comprising a handle disposed in an outer wall of the lip, the handle sized and configured to facilitate separation of a table from an adjacent table when the tables are stacked in the nested configuration.

19. The round table as in claim 16 , wherein the engaging portion is disposed about an outer periphery of the lower portion of the lip; and
wherein the contact surface is disposed about an inner periphery of the lower portion of the lip.

Assignees

• Lifetime Prod Inc

Inventors

• Nye S Curtis
• Johnson Mitch
• Peery Wendell

Classifications

• A47B3/00

  Folding or stowable tables (folded and suspended or hinged, or wall tables A47B5/04) · CPC title

• A47B7/02

  Stackable tables; Nesting tables · CPC title

• A47B3/0815

  the resilient force of the elastic locking means acting in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the leg · CPC title

• A47B3/0809 Primary

  with elastic locking means (A47B3/083, A47B3/087 and A47B3/091 take precedence) · CPC title

• A47B87/02

  stackable {; stackable and linkable (by means of separate corner elements being in common with both the vertical and horizontal parts, e.g. corner bars for panels, nodes for rods A47B47/0016, A47B47/0025)} · CPC title