The present invention relates to a piece of furniture which is at least substantially constructed from at least two mutually connected, at least substantially panel-like furniture parts, which furniture parts are mutually coupled by means of a releasable finger connection comprising at least one insertion cavity in each of the two furniture parts in which an insertion part of the other furniture part is received, wherein the insertion part and the insertion cavity extend at this position over a whole body length of the respective panel-like furniture part and wherein in mounted state the insertion part and the insertion cavity lie mutually in line.

Items of furniture exist in diverse types and sizes, varying from craftsman-made pieces to cabinets and furniture to be assembled from separate parts by the consumer him/herself. This latter form has great advantages from a logistical and economic viewpoint, which therefore explains the large scale on which furniture is supplied in this form. An additional advantage here is that, after use or during a move, the respective piece of furniture can also be taken apart again relatively easily in order to be moved or stored.

Although not exclusively so, the invention relates

particularly to children's furniture. An additional factor for consideration here is that a specific piece of furniture will no longer be used after a certain stage in the life of the child. Following the toddler or infant phase of the child a child's cot will for instance be replaced by a larger bed, and thereby be of not further use to the child.

The present invention has for its object, among others, to provide a piece of furniture which can be manually put together and later taken apart relatively easily, and which in particular is then at least partially reusable in another piece of furniture. In order to achieve the stated object a piece of furniture of the type described in the preamble has the feature according to the invention that in each of the two furniture parts the insertion cavity is embodied with a firmly defined recess width and the insertion part is embodied with a rebate having a rebate depth, and that the rebate depth imparts to the insertion part a reduced, firmly defined body thickness which at least substantially corresponds to the recess width of each of the two insertion cavities. The constituent parts of the piece of furniture according to the invention can thus be joined together without further connecting means in order to make a firm mutual connection. The parts can hereby also be taken apart again without leaving noticeable traces of the mutual connection such as screw holes, nail holes or other holes usually associated with a connection via such attaching members.

According to the invention the finger connection is realized here between an insertion cavity and an insertion part, respectively a width and a body thickness of which are precisely adapted to each other. The effect of inevitable panel thickness tolerances and panel thickness variations on the mutual connection of the furniture parts is counteracted or even avoided. It is thus found possible in practice to minimize such tolerances to an acceptable level in accordance with European standards in respect of stability of the final piece of furniture. This is because the recess width and rebate depth can be set with a very high degree of precision, for instance by machine, independently of an actual panel thickness. Not only does this avoid possible play in the mutual connection, it also ensures that every furniture part fits with the same precision into any other furniture part embodied in the same way.

In a particular embodiment the piece of furniture according to the invention is characterized in that said furniture parts are connected to each other at a mutual angle at the position of the insertion part and the insertion cavity, and in particular are mutually coupled at least substantially transversely relative to each other by the insertion cavity and the insertion part inserted therein. In combination with at least one such further angular connection, such an angular connection imparts a structural cohesion, and thereby stability, to the piece of furniture. This opens the way to an innovative modular furniture system in which furniture parts can be reused and different pieces of furniture can be assembled therefrom. The invention therefore also relates to a furniture system comprising a group of furniture parts from which a first piece of

furniture according to the invention is assembled and from which at least one further, different piece of furniture can be assembled.

Such a modular furniture system thus comprises all the ingredients necessary for assembling pieces of furniture of diverse nature therefrom. A piece of furniture according to the invention can in particular hereby evolve wholly or partially together with the successive life stages in the development of a child and thereafter. A particular

embodiment of the piece of furniture according to the invention has in this respect the feature that the furniture parts comprise at least two furniture parts chosen from a group comprising a furniture base, a backrest, a seat surface, a footboard, a tabletop, a shelf and a side panel of the piece of furniture.

Of a group of such furniture parts at least specific

furniture parts are reusable in the furniture system

according to invention for another piece of furniture, wherein not only the use but also the function of the respective furniture part can be a wholly different one.

Within the scope of the invention a particular embodiment of the piece of furniture according to the invention thus has the feature that the piece of furniture comprises a

furnishing taken from a group comprising a cradle, a cot, a desk, a table, a chair and a bench, wherein a preferred embodiment of the piece of furniture according to the invention is characterized in that at least two pieces of furniture from the group have at least one furniture part in common. The connection between the furniture parts is preferably not immediately visible in the final piece of furniture. A further preferred embodiment of the piece of furniture according to the invention has for this purpose the feature that the insertion cavity is embodied with a recess depth which at least substantially corresponds to a length of the insertion part, wherein the rebate extends over the length of the insertion part and over the recess depth in a

longitudinal wall part of the insertion cavity. The insertion part with the rebate therein thus disappears completely into the insertion cavity so that a blind mutual connection is brought about. The individual furniture parts hereby seem to form a whole in the piece of furniture assembled therefrom, as if it were craftsman-made.

The invention also relates to a furniture part for

application in the piece of furniture and furniture system according to the invention, and will now be further

elucidated on the basis of several exemplary embodiments and an accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a piece of furniture according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a piece of furniture according to the invention;

Figure 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of a piece of furniture according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of a piece of furniture according to the invention;

Figure 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a furniture part as applied in the pieces of furniture of figures 1 to 4;

Figure 5A is a detail drawing of a part of the furniture part of figure 5;

Figure 6 shows a section along the line VI-VI in figure 5; Figure 7 shows a section along the line VII-VII in figure 5; Figure 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of a furniture part as applied in the piece of furniture of figure 1; Figure 8A is a detail drawing of a part of the furniture part of figure 8 ;

Figure 9 shows a section along the line VI-VI in figure 8 ;

and

Figure 10 shows a section along the line VII-VII in figure 8. The figures are purely schematic and not all drawn to scale. Some dimensions in particular may be exaggerated to greater or lesser extent for the sake of clarity. Corresponding parts are designated in the figures with the same reference

numerals . Shown in figures 1 to 4 are a number of different pieces of furniture, all assembled within the same modular furniture system according to the invention. Characteristic hereof is a mutual finger connection between the constituent panel-like furniture parts which makes possible a durable, play-free coupling which requires no further connecting means or members and can be realized just as easily and quickly as it can be disassembled, wherein at least a number of the

furniture parts can be utilized in more than one way for different pieces of furniture. Thus particularly provided is a furniture system which can evolve with the user, in particular a child. This is illustrated in the figures in that the piece of furniture of figure 1 is a child' s cradle which will be used in the first year of the life of a child, while several parts 22,23 thereof will also find their way into the pieces of furniture of figures 2 to 4 which will be used only at a later stage in the life of the child.

The cradle of figure 1 comprises a bed base 22 which in inserted on either side into opposite side panels 21 forming a head and foot end of the cot. The whole is held together by a set of flanks 23 which protrude in the side panels by means of a finger connection. Bed base 22 is hereby locked. Flanks 23 and side panels 21 are shown in further detail in figures 5 and 8. Both parts 21,23 are of a similar panel material. In this example use is made herefor of optionally waterproof- glued birch plywood laminated on both sides with a wear- resistant film, also referred to as HPL. HPL is an acronym for High Pressure Laminate (composite material) . Use can also be made instead of fibreboard parts, such as compressed chipboard, particle board parts (MDF) and any other suitable board material, such as for instance polycarbonate or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) , which is utilized in

optionally laminated form. Use is made in this example of a nominal thickness of 18 millimetres for panel parts 21,23, although it is also possible if desired to opt for another thickness such as 15 or 21 millimetres or any other suitable thickness .

Essential for the furniture system is that all parts fit into each other where that is intended and can there be connected in play-free but easily releasable manner to each other.

Panel parts 21,23 are for this purpose provided with coupling areas which each comprise an insertion cavity 15 and, in line therewith, an insertion part 25. Insertion cavities 15 are all embodied with the same system width w, while a thickness of the panel material in the insertion part is adapted thereto by providing a rebate here which if necessary reduces the panel thickness to a system thickness d. Both the width w and the thickness d are thus set by machine, this resulting in a significantly smaller tolerance than panel thickness tolerances of different panel parts relative to each other. According to the invention the system and piece of furniture are thus embodied such that the thickness d is equal to the width w, i.e. d = w, see also figures 6 and 7 and figures 9 and 10 respectively. A precise fit between all constituent parts is hereby ensured in the system and piece of furniture according to the invention. As shown in figure 8A and figure 10, the rebate can in some situations continue into an edge part or wall part 29 of insertion cavity 15.

In order to assemble and erect the cot of figure 1 the two flanks 23 are inserted into the two side panels 21, wherein insertion parts 25 of the flanks are received in insertion cavities 15 of the side panels, and vice versa. Bed base 22 is placed beforehand between the two side panels and inserted therein so that it lies locked therebetween. The cot can subsequently be taken apart again in reverse sequence.

Flanks 23 and bed base 22 of the cot are reusable in the piece of furniture of figure 2 which forms a picnic table. Flanks 23 serve here as seat and footboard, while bed base 22 is transformed into a tabletop. Apart from an additional set of flanks 23, the picnic table of figure 2 thus requires only a set of side panels 25 adapted thereto. The footboards and seat parts 23 are connected here by means of the above described finger connection to side panels 25 and thus hold the piece of furniture together.

Shown in figure 3 is a bench seat in which the tabletop or bed base 22 is reused as seat, while a flank 23 once again serves as footboard and as backrest. Only a set of side panels 26 adapted thereto will suffice to assemble this bench seat from the above stated parts. The footboard and backrest 23 are connected here by means of the above described finger connection to side panels 26 and thus hold the piece of furniture together.

Figure 4 shows an illustration of a desk formed from the system according to the invention. The desk is distinguished from the other pieces of furniture only by side panels 24 adapted thereto. Placed therebetween is a flank 23 as bookshelf or shelf and another flank 23 as footboard, while the bed base/tabletop/seat 22 now serves as worktop. The shelf and footboard 23 are connected by means of the above described finger connection to side panels 24 and thus hold the piece of furniture together.

Although the invention has been further elucidated above on the basis of only four exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that the invention is by no means limited thereto. On the contrary, many variations and embodiments are still possible within the scope of the invention for a person with ordinary skill in the art. The invention is in particular not limited to the given types of furniture but, optionally by adding specific furniture parts, other types of furniture can also be realized within the system according to the

invention, both within and outside the scope of children' s furniture. In addition, the stated materials are referred to solely by way of example, and other panel materials can be applied, wherein colours, panel thicknesses and rebate widths can also be varied. The invention generally provides a modular furniture system which can be added to and in which at least a number of furniture parts can have multiple uses.