DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a new type of furniture provided with a pull-out auxiliary work surface, which can be used both in residential houses and offices.

The problem regarding little space is well known, in particular in residential houses where rooms are more and more smaller and thus where it is more and more difficult to place the furniture.

In particular, the problem regarding the availability of one or more support surfaces, especially in kitchens and generally in places where there is little space, is known.

Hereinafter, the expression "main work surface" shall be used to indicate the work surface of a piece of furniture instantly useable by the user, without requiring any manual operation to modify the structure of the piece of furniture. Hereinafter, the expression "auxiliary work surface" shall be used to indicate the work surface of a piece of furniture not instantly useable by the user in that it is at least partly inserted in the piece of furniture.

There are various types of furniture with an auxiliary work surface. For example, there are tables with a work surface comprising two halves which translate outwards thus allowing the access of the user to an internal compartment, in which a further work surface that can be lifted manually up to the level of the aforementioned two halves is identified.

A further type of furniture is the one in which there is a work surface provided with two wings foldable outwards and such to form a widened work surface forming a single flat surface.

In the latter case, also the legs of the table are required to translate outwards to allow supporting the widened work surface.

A further type of furniture is the one in which there is a main work surface expandable through the outward translation of two halves initially superimposed on each other.

In this case, one of the two halves is subsequently moved upwards to be brought to the level of the other half, thus forming a single enlarged work surface.

However, the furniture of the known type with pull-out work surfaces reveals some drawbacks.

Firstly, utilising the auxiliary work surfaces contained in the furniture always requires acting on the main work surface thus modifying the aspect thereof. In addition, pulling out the auxiliary work surfaces from the aforementioned furniture often requires difficult or complex manual operations. Same case applies when one is through with using the piece of furniture and thus the auxiliary work surface has to be inserted into the piece of furniture.

In addition, in the furniture provided with one or more auxiliary work surfaces, the latter can only be obtained by extending the main work surface along the longitudinal axis thereof.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks.

In particular, an object of the present invention is to obtain a piece of furniture provided with one or more auxiliary work surfaces that can be easily pulled out without modifying the structure of the main work surface.

A further object of the present invention is to obtain a piece of furniture provided with one or more auxiliary work surfaces that can be easily pulled out and inserted into the piece of furniture without requiring complex manual operations.

A further object of the present invention is also to create a pull-out system that is easily moveable and inexpensive.

Last but not least, an object of the present invention is to obtain a piece of furniture provided with one or more auxiliary work surfaces that can be pulled out therefrom and such that it can also be inserted into limited spaces.

The aforementioned objects are attained by the present invention regarding a piece of furniture whose main characteristics reflect the teachings of the independent claim.

Further detailed characteristics of the invention are subject of the dependent claims.

Advantageously, the piece of furniture according to the present invention allows pulling out an auxiliary work surface without having to modify the aspect of the main work surface.

Still advantageously, the piece of furniture according to the invention allows pulling out an auxiliary work surface through an initial translation and the subsequent rotation thereof around a rotation pin. Still advantageously, the piece of furniture according to the invention is provided with an auxiliary work surface which, subsequently to the rotation thereof around the aforementioned pin, may be further oriented at will adapting to various space situations due to the fact that it has a longitudinal slit. Thus, according to a plan view, the piece of furniture may take various positions, even diagonal, with respect to the main work surface.

Still advantageously, the auxiliary work surface of the piece of furniture according to the invention has legs on wheels which allow configuring it at will and locking it at the desired position, hence it serves as an actual table.

The aforementioned objects and the aforementioned advantages shall be better outlined during the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which shall be provided for hereinafter by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

- fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a piece of furniture according to the invention with the auxiliary work surface open;

- fig. 2 shows a front view of the piece of furniture of fig. 1 with the auxiliary work surface open;

- fig. 3 shows a lateral view of the piece of furniture of fig. 1 with the auxiliary work surface open;

- fig. 4 shows a plan view of the piece of furniture of fig. 1 ;

- figs. 5 to 8 show, in sequence and plan view, the operating steps of the opening of the piece of furniture of fig. 1 .

As observable in figs. 1 and 3, the piece of furniture according to the invention, indicated as a whole with 1 , comprises a body 2 provided with a base for support on the ground 3 and a main work surface 4 parallel and spaced with respect to a surface 5 belonging to the body 2 and opposite to the base for support on the ground 3.

According to the present invention and with reference to figs. 2 and 3, an interspace 6 is defined between the body 2 and the main work surface 4, such interspace 6 being a compartment for housing an auxiliary work surface 7 in closed position, in which such auxiliary work surface 7 is partly inserted. Still according to the invention and with reference to fig. 3, the main work surface 4 and the body 2 are connected to each other through a pin 8 having a vertical rotation axis X. Such pin 8 allows the rotation of the auxiliary work surface 7 around an axis coinciding with the axis X of the pin 8. In particular and with reference to the specific embodiments of figs. 1 and 2, the body 2 of the piece of furniture 1 is parallelepiped-shaped and has a rectangular base for support on the ground 3.

In the embodiment represented herein, the main work surface 4 is parallelepiped-shaped and the size thereof is substantially equivalent to that of the surface 5 opposite to the base for support on the ground 3.

However, both the shape of the body of the piece of furniture and the shape of the work surfaces may be different with respect to those described above, so that the rotation mechanism of the auxiliary work surface may be obtained for any shape they may take.

With reference to fig. 4, the auxiliary work surface 7 is provided with a slit 9 which develops along an axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis Y of the auxiliary work surface 7.

With reference to fig. 1 , the auxiliary work surface 7 is provided with legs 10 and wheels 11 for support on the ground.

With reference to figs. 3 and 4, the rotation pin 8 is constrained at its ends to two fixing plates, respectively 12a and 12b.

The fixing plates 12a and 12b are respectively constrained to the lower surface 13 of the main work surface 4 and to the upper surface 5 of the body 2 of the piece of furniture 1.

As easily observable, the upper surface 5 of the body 2 coincides with the surface 5 opposite to the base for support on the ground 3.

As observable in fig. 4, first ball bearings 14 are positioned around the pin 8 and the lower fixing plate 12b, such ball bearings facilitating the rotation of the auxiliary work surface 7 when it has to be pulled out, as better outlined hereinafter.

In the embodiment of fig. 4 there are four first ball bearings 14 and they are arranged according to a rectangular configuration.

Obviously, according to a variant embodiment not represented in the figures, the first ball bearings 14 may be arranged differently with respect to the arrangement illustrated above and they may also be less or more than four. According to a variant embodiment not represented in the figures, for example there may be two auxiliary surfaces, positioned on two different levels, rotating around the same pin.

With reference to fig. 4, it is observed that the main work surface 4 is also provided with a second ball bearing 15 which facilitates the sliding of the auxiliary work surface 7 when the latter is pulled out and it constitutes a further support point for the auxiliary work surface 7 when the latter is re-inserted into the interspace 6 of the piece of furniture 1 in closing position.

Preferably, the main work surface 4 is provided with a support portion 18, shown in figs. 3 and 4, which constitutes an area in which the interspace 6 is delimited since there is obtained a support base between the main work surface 4 and the surface 5. Advantageously, such support base guarantees greater support for the main work surface 4 which, besides resting on the pin 8 and on the second ball bearing 15, also has a third support point constituted by the aforementioned portion.

Operatively, and with reference to figs. 5 to 8, the operation of the piece of furniture according to the invention occurs as follows.

With reference to fig. 5, the piece of furniture 1 has the auxiliary work surface 7 thereof partly inserted in the interspace 6 and partly projecting from the surface of the main work surface 4.

Currently, the auxiliary work surface 7 is in closed configuration and it can already be partly utilised as a surface on which one can rest his/her arms and, for example, enjoy a snack.

In this closed configuration, however, the auxiliary work surface 7 rests on the ground due to the legs 10 and the wheels 11.

When planning to utilise the auxiliary work surface 7, it is translated along the direction indicated by the arrow R of fig. 6.

Still as observable in fig. 6, the auxiliary work surface 7 is translated in the direction of the arrow R until the pin 8 comes into contact with the left end 16 of the slit 9.

In other words, the auxiliary work surface 7 translates parallel to the main work surface 4 given that it is provided with the slit 9.

Advantageously, the end 16 serves as an element for stopping the translation motion of the auxiliary work surface 7.

It should be observed that the translation of the auxiliary work surface 7 occurs according to a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis Y of the slit 9 and the auxiliary work surface 7.

At this point, still with reference to fig. 6, the auxiliary work surface 7 is rotated around the pin 8 by about 180° downwards and due to the contribution of the ball bearings 14 and 15.

According to a variant embodiment represented in fig. 7, the auxiliary work surface 7 may be rotated in the opposite direction with respect to the previous one, according to the needs and availability of space.

The open position of the auxiliary work surface 7 of the piece of furniture 1 is the one represented in fig. 8. Such configuration, according to the plan view of fig. 8, is L-shaped in this case.

At this point, the auxiliary work surface 7 is locked in position through the wheels 11 , these wheels being available in the market and provided with a braking mechanism, for example with a lever 17 visible in fig. 1 .

In the configuration illustrated in fig. 8, the auxiliary work surface 7 is arranged with its longitudinal axis Y orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Z of the main work surface 4.

According to a variant embodiment, not illustrated in the figures, the auxiliary work surface 7 may be translated again along the slit 9 and orthogonally to the longitudinal axis Z of the main work surface 4 to obtain a configuration which, according to a plan view, is T-shaped, or other configurations in which the auxiliary work surface 7 also takes a diagonal position with respect to the main work surface 4.

When the auxiliary work surface is returned to the closing position, it remains stable in such position due to the presence of the second ball bearing 15.

According to the above, it can be easily observed that both the main work surface and the auxiliary work surface of the piece of furniture according to the invention serve as tables.

Advantageously, the main work surface of the piece of furniture according to the invention may be used as a work surface by installing fire devices, while the auxiliary work surface may be comfortably used as an eating or coffee break surface.

Advantageously, the piece of furniture according to the invention may also be used in offices to obtain two adjacent desks on which telephones and computers may also be installed.

Still advantageously, according to a further variant embodiment not represented in the figures, the body of the piece of furniture according to the invention may also be shaped to form a table provided with legs and having a main work surface, separated from the body through an interspace according to the description above, from which one or more auxiliary work surfaces project.

Equally advantageously, the pulling out of the auxiliary work surface from the piece of furniture according to the invention occurs easily and without modifying the aspect of the main work surface.

A further advantage of the piece of furniture according to the invention lies in the fact that it can also be arranged in environments with limited space and it provides such spaces with several work surfaces.

A further advantage of the piece of furniture according to the invention lies in the fact that the system described above allows having a main work surface and an auxiliary work surface that are both stable. In particular, the auxiliary work surface is stable both in opening and closing position.

If falling within the scope of the claims that follow, further modifications and variants of the piece of furniture according to the invention, not described and not represented herein, shall be deemed protected by the present patent.