Statement of Corresponding Applications

This application is based on Australian Application No. 2020902748 filed on 5 August 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to furniture and, in particular, to articles of furniture such as lounges, seats and Ottomans, together with methods of construction, and kitsets of parts to construct, same.

Background Art

Traditionally such furniture has been fabricated using a timber or particleboard frame which is then upholstered. The frame typically includes at least two parallel sheets, for example fabricated from medium density particleboard and which are separated by struts also cut from such particleboard. The struts are glued to the sheets and held in position by staples while the glue dries. As a consequence of this construction process, there is a considerable amount of time involved in the creation of the struts by sawing timber and a further delay whilst the glue dries. That is, the upholstery steps cannot be carried out until the glue is dried sufficiently for the frame to achieve moderate strength.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to speed up the construction of furniture, or reduce the skill required to construct furniture, thereby resulting in an article of furniture of lower cost.

Alternatively, or in addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kitset of components that can be used to speed up manufacture of articles of furniture.

Alternatively, or in addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of construction of an article of furniture which requires fewer techniques, materials, equipment and / or adhesives. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

All references, including any patents or patent applications, cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the reference states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents forms parts of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like, are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense, that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an elongate moulded plastics frame member from which the frame of an article of furniture can be constructed, said elongated moulded plastics frame member having top and bottom ends and a pair of opposite sides, each of said ends including at least one protruding fastener receiving boss, at least one of said ends having a recess for a backrest support.

Preferably, at least one, and more preferably both, of each of said sides includes at least one receiving aperture.

Preferably, the top and bottom ends are substantially parallel.

Preferably, each of the fastener receiving bosses has a blind hole therein. Preferably, each dowel receiving aperture comprises a blind hole.

Preferably, the frame member has a side which is inclined relative to its ends.

Preferably, the frame member has sides which are substantially flat.

Alternatively, the frame member has at least one side which is substantially curved.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an article of furniture comprising at least two substantially parallel sheet members separated by a plurality of said frame members as defined in the above paragraphs.

Preferably, the underside of the upper sheet has a plurality of boss receiving apertures into which a boss of the upper end of said frame members is received, and a fastener extending from the upper side of said upper sheet into each of said bosses; and the upper side of the lower sheet has a plurality of boss receiving apertures into which a corresponding boss of the lower end of said frame members is received, and a fastener extending from the lower side of said lower sheet into each of said bosses.

Preferably, there are at least four of said sheet members, two of said sheet members being parallel and being formed into a backrest, and two of said sheet members being parallel and being formed into a base, said base and backrest being joined by a plurality of elongated backrest supports each having one end engaged with a backrest support aperture of a frame member of said backrest and the other end engaged with a backrest support aperture of a frame member of said base.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of fabricating an article of furniture comprising at least two substantially parallel sheet members separated by a plurality of frame members as referred to above, said method comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of opposing pairs of apertures in the opposed faces of said parallel sheet members, locating a frame member between each pair of opposed apertures with a boss of each said frame member being received in the corresponding recess, and passing a fastener from a non-opposed face of said parallel sheet members into each boss received in a recess to thereby engage said boss and secure said sheet members to said frame members.

Preferably, the method further comprising the steps of: forming an aligned through hole in each of two adjacent sheets of said frame members, and locating one end of an elongated backrest support in one of said holes and locating the other end of said elongated backrest support in the other of said holes.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a kitset for constructing an article of furniture, the kitset comprising at least one frame member as described herein, and at least one sheet member as described herein.

Preferably, the sheet member(s) may be pre-cut to a desired shape corresponding to the shape of the article of furniture.

Preferably, the sheet member(s) may be pre-drilled with one or more holes which are each positioned to receive a boss of a respective frame member.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view from the front of the frame member of the preferred embodiment,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view from the rear of the frame member of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one side of the frame member of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the frame member of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the other side of the frame member of Fig. 3

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the frame member of Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is an inverted plan view of the frame member of Fig. 1, Fig. 8 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a lounge having a backrest, a plurality of the frame members of Figs. 1-7 being utilised in its construction,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a curved lounge having a backrest,

Fig. 10 is a side elevation, partly cut away, illustrating a seat or lounge of a further construction having a fixed backrest,

Fig. 11 is a side elevation, partly cut away, illustrating a seat or lounge of a still further construction having an adjustable backrest,

Fig. 12 reproduces Fig. 4 and shows an alternative shape for the frame member,

Fig. 13 is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating the detail of the assembly method,

Fig. 14 is a side view of a seat or lounge of a further construction having a fixed backrest and supplemental support surface,

Fig 15 is a side view of a seat or lounge of a further construction having a backrest and a supplemental support surface, and

Fig 16 is a view of a frame member showing reference axes to define the preferred angle of inclination for a side of the frame member.

Detailed Description

As seen in Figs. 1-7, an elongate moulded plastics frame member 1 is created in order to replace the previous wooden struts. The frame member 1 has a top end 2 which is wider than its bottom end 3. Each of the ends 2, 3 has a pair of bosses 5 each of which has a fastener receiving blind hole 6. In addition, the top end 2 has a backrest support recess 8.

In preferred embodiments, the frame member 1 is formed in one piece, which components and structure formed integrally thereto. For instance, the frame member 1 may be formed form a plastics material e.g. by injection moulding. As a result, the frame member 1 may provide a more cost-effective component to manufacture and assist with reducing labour and time to prepare the components of a frame for an article of furniture.

The frame member 1 has a right side 11 and a left side 12. Both sides 11, 12 have at least one, and preferably a pair, of receiving apertures 14. The interior of the frame member 1 includes a central wall 15 and a number of ribs 16 the outer edges of which are flush so as to form a planar front surface 18 and rear surface 19. As best seen in Fig. 4, the right side 11 is substantially perpendicular to the top and bottom ends 2, 3 whereas the left side 12 is inclined to the top and bottom ends 2, 3.

It should be understood that reference to the terms left and right, top and bottom are relative, and depending on the orientation of the frame member 1 in use and the angle from which they are viewed.

Turning now to Fig. 8, an article of furniture in the form of a lounge or settee 20 is illustrated in cutaway fashion. The lounge 20 has a base 21 and a backrest 22. The base 21 is formed from two spaced apart parallel sheets 24, 25 both of which are cut from medium density particleboard, plywood, or the like. The lower surface of the upper sheet 24 and the upper surface of the lower sheet 25 are provided with a series of stepped apertures. The larger diameter of the stepped apertures receives a corresponding boss 5 and the smaller diameter of the stepped apertures receives the shank of a fastener having a counter sunk head. The fastener passes through the sheets 24, 25 and into the blind hole 6 in the boss 5, and is countersunk into the sheets 24, 25. As a consequence of this construction, as soon as the fasteners are screwed in, the frame is ready for further treatment, there being no glue to dry.

The construction of the backrest 22 is similar with two elongated narrow sheets. It will be seen that the frame members 1 are inverted in the backrest 22 relative to the frame members 1 of the base 21. In particular, the inclined left side 12 of the frame members 1 of the backrest 22 form the inclined front face of the backrest.

In addition, a tubular support 27 is received in, and fixed to, the backrest support recess 8 of both frame members 1 of the backrest 22 and of the base 21. In this way the backrest 22 is secured to the base 21.

The inventor has surprisingly found that the angle of inclination of the left side 12 may be important for allowing the frame member 1 to be used in constructing a base and a backrest 22 according to the present technology. The angle of inclination can be described with reference to several reference axes or planes. However, as shown in Fig. 16, the reference axis X may be a substantially horizontal axis on which the bottom end 3 can lie and the reference axis Y is an axis which is substantially perpendicular to the reference axis X. The angle of inclination Z is the angle between the reference axis Y and the left side 22.

In preferred forms, the angle of inclination Z may be in the range of substantially 8° to 16 ⁰ degrees, and more preferably substantially 10° degrees.

The preferred ranges for the angle of inclination Z strike a balance between providing a backrest 22 with a sufficiently reclined support surface to allow a person to comfortably sit on the seat, and a base 21 with a sufficient heel relief for a person to sit on the base 21. In addition, the angle of inclination Z will assist the base 21 to have a width which assist it to be stable in use e.g. the angle of inclination Z does not substantially affect stability of a an article of furniture. As a result, the preferred range for the angle of inclination may facilitate the frame member 1 being used to construct backrests 22 and bases 21 which are both comfortable and appropriately functional.

In addition, it should also be appreciated that the shape of the frame members 1 may allow them to be nested together e.g. the inclined left side 12 of a first frame member 1 can be abut the left side 12 of a second frame member 12, with the top end 2 of the first frame member 1 adjacent to the bottom end 3 of the second frame member (and vice versa). This may reduce the overall volume which the frame members 1 occupy during transport and therefore reduce shipping, handling and storage costs.

It should also be understood that the present technology relates to articles of furniture that do not include a backrest i.e. includes only a base 21. For instance, these article may be referred to as an ottoman, or may alternatively take the form of an upholstered bench.

It will be apparent that the sheets 24, 25 and their equivalents in the backrest 22, can be cut to size and pre-drilled using computer-controlled machinery. All the frame members 1 are identical and can be placed between the sheets with the bosses received in the apertures to construct a portion of an article of furniture. Then the fasteners are screwed home so as to complete the entire framework of each of the base and the backrest. Since there is no glue to dry, these are immediately available for upholstering, or similar finishing steps. Turning now to Fig. 9, a lounge 120 of a second embodiment having a curved appearance is illustrated. The lounge 120 has a base 121 and a backrest 122 each of which is formed from curved planar sheets (of MDF, plywood, etc.) held in a spaced apart parallel arrangement by a plurality of frame members 1. It will be apparent than in order to create the lounge 120, only the sheets 124, 125 and their equivalents in the backrest 122 are required to be fabricated. All other components for this lounge 120 are already on hand owing to the prior fabrication of the lounge 20.

In Fig. 10, a seat 30 with a fixed backrest 31 is illustrated in partially cutaway fashion. Dowels 33 are retained in the receiving apertures 14 of the rear frame members 1 and pass into similar receiving apertures 34 in the backrest 31. The dowels 33 can be glued in place or held by means of a friction fit.

It should also be appreciated that the frame member(s) 1 may not be provided with receiving apertures 14. For instance, a fixed backrest 31 may be screwed directly into a face of the frame member(s) 1.

Fig. 11 is similar to Fig. 10 but illustrates a seat 40 having an adjustable backrest 41. The backrest 41 has two tubular supports 27 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 11), which are fixed in the corresponding backrest support recess 8 of the frame member(s) 1 in the backrest 41. However, the tubular support 27 is slidingly engaged with the equivalent recess 8 of the frame member 1 of the base 42 of the seat 40.

Turning now to Fig. 12, it is possible for the frame member 101 to be modified in various ways such as, for example, having a curved face 112 as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 12. That is to say, the left side 12 instead of being a flat surface is instead a curved surface. As a consequence, when such frame members 101 are utilised with a lounge 20 as illustrated in Fig. 8, or a lounge 120 as illustrated in Fig. 9, then the backrest 22, 122 of the lounge will have a similarly curved face. It is also possible for the front face of the base 21, 121 to be similarly curved by using frame members 101 rather than frame members 1.

Fig. 13 which is a vertical cross-section through a sheet member such as 24, 124, illustrates in exploded fashion the detail of the inter-engagement of the frame member 1, 101 with the sheet member 24, 124. The sheet member is provided with a stepped aperture 44 having a larger diameter sized to receive, and facing, the boss 5. The aperture 44 also has a smaller diameter which extends through the sheet and is sized to receive the shank of a fastener 45. The shank of the fastener 45 passes through the sheet 24, 124 and into the blind hole 6 of the boss 5. With all the fasteners 45 secured in position, the sheets are drawn onto the bosses 5 thereby both securing the sheets and also clamping the frame members 1, 101 between the sheets.

Referring now to Fig. 14, which shows an article of furniture 60 according to another aspect of the technology, in the form of a lounge or settee. Aspects of the article of furniture 60 are identical to those described above with reference to other Figures and so like references refer to like components.

The article of furniture 60 has an external support frame 62. The external support frame 62 includes mounting members (not marked in the Figures) which can be disposed in receiving apertures 14 in the left side 11 and / or right side 12.

The mounting members (not marked) can be secured in position using any suitable technique such as fasteners like screws that extend through a side of the wall which defines the receiving aperture(s) 14 and into the mounting member(s) (not marked). Alternatively, adhesive or a friction fit may be used to attach the mounting member(s) (not marked) in the receiving apertures.

The external support frame 62 includes a support surface 64. The support surface 64 can be support objects e.g. learning materials such as books or computers.

Referring now to Fig. 15, which shows an article of furniture 70 according to another aspect of the technology, in the form of a lounge or settee. Aspects of the article of furniture 70 as identical to those described above with reference to Fig. 14. Therefore, like references refer to like components. The difference between article 60 and article 70, is that article 70 has an extended external support frame 62, to provide a relatively higher support surface 64. The present invention may be provided as a kitset of parts which includes one or more of the following:

• one or more frame member(s) 1;

• one or more sheet members e.g. 24 and / or 124;

• one or more fasteners;

• one or more dowels 33;

• one or more backrest supports 27;

• a backrest adjustment mechanism;

• adhesive; and / or

• upholstery and padding.

For instance, the kitset may include sufficient frame members 1 and sheets 24, 124, to form a piece of furniture e.g. provide a base 21 and backrest 22 for the article of furniture.

Providing the components of the article of furniture in a kitset form allows these to be more efficiently shipped by reducing the volume used in transport. In addition, the features of the components described herein enables easy, cost effective and fast construction of the article of furniture in market e.g. by factory workers or customers.

Furthermore, the unique shape and configuration of the frame member(s) may reduce the overall volume for parts of an article of furniture, thereby improving cost savings in transport.

It should be noted that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be included within the present invention.

The invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of said parts, elements or features. Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.