US20040250739A1

US20040250739A1 - Extendable sectional table

Info

Publication number: US20040250739A1
Application number: US10/458,683
Authority: US
Inventors: Jung Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-06-11
Filing date: 2003-06-11
Publication date: 2004-12-16

Abstract

An extendable sectional table, which is tough and easily foldable, can be extended in length as needed. Depending on the length thereof, the extendable sectional table is composed of a number of supporting units and a tabletop unit having a corresponding number of laths. A supporting unit further consists of a plurality of legs, collapsible connecting frames, cross bars, and fixers and sleeves for combining the above components. A tabletop unit consists of a plurality of laths, connecting tubes, a string, and a couple of fixing covers. The supporting units and the tabletop unit combine to form a firm body, which can be taken apart without tools and can be folded to fit in with a compact storage space.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, to an extendable sectional table, and more particularly to an extendable sectional table composed of a plurality of supporting units and a tabletop unit; the extendable sectional table is easy to be assembled, disassembled and folded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sectional tables easily assembled and extended to cover a large surface area are commonly used outdoor, such as exhibitions, parties, and religious gatherings. The sectional tables of the prior art are composed of a set of collapsible legs and a tabletop board of generally a rectangular shape. To setup a conventional sectional table, the leg set is spread out and then the tabletop board is placed thereon. The conventional sectional table is disadvantageous due to the following reasons. The unfolded leg set is not firmly locked and may collapse due to external forces applied thereon. The surface of the tabletop board is not foldable and therefore difficult to be carried by one person. Moreover, the sectional table, composed by a leg set and a tabletop board, cannot be connected one by one, and therefore, an extended table is merely a loose arrangement of a number of sectional tables, which is easy to be detached. ( 4) the tabletop board might slide off the leg set, since they are not firmly connected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an extendable sectional table whose surface area can be extended as desired, while the extended structure retains a firm structure.

It is a second object of the present invention that the extendable sectional table cab be assembled swiftly and easily, even without using any tool.

It is a further object of the present invention that the basic units composing the extendable sectional table is so collapsible that they can be folded into small space for storage.

To achieve above objects, the present invention of an extendable sectional table comprises at least a supporting unit and a tabletop unit. The supporting unit is composed of a number of legs, connecting frames linking the legs, and a number of cross bars for supporting the tabletop unit. The tabletop unit consists of a number of laths, which are connected by connecting tubes and a string going through those connecting tubes. The extendable sectional table can be easily extended by means of connecting extra supporting units to the original one and adding more laths to the tabletop unit.

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [0008]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, including two local top views. [0009]
FIG. 3 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a folded configuration[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS.1, 2 and [0011] 3, a preferred embodiment of the extendable sectional table according to the present invention is illustrated. The table comprises at least a supporting unit 10 and a tabletop unit 20.
The supporting [0012] unit 10 is composed of a plurality of legs 11, a plurality of connecting frames 12, and a plurality of cross bars 13. Those connecting frames 12, pivotably linked to a sleeve 14 and a fixer 15 on each of the legs 11, laterally connect the legs 11. Each of the connecting frames 12 is composed of two sticks whose centers are also pivotably connected. The fixer 15 on each leg is installed on the top of a leg, whereas the sleeve 14 encircles and may slide along a leg. Each of the connecting frames 12 is pivotably connected between two legs 11 at two pivot plates 150 each on the fixer 15 on a leg and two other pivots plates 140 each on the sleeve 14 along a leg. Four fixing pins 151 and a dowel pin 152 are formed respectively at four corners and at the center on the top face of a fixer 15. A hole 130 is formed to be close to one end of each of the cross bars 13, and a fixing connector 16 with a dowel hole 160 on top is installed at the other end of each cross bat, The fixing connector 16 of a cross bar can be inserted into one end of another cross bar so that two cross bars are combined. Four fixing pins 151 on a fixer 15 receives a cross bar therebetween. The hole 130 of each of the cross bars 13 receives the dowel pin 152 on a fixer 15, whereas the dowel hole 160 on a fixing connector 16 of the same cross bar receives another dowel pin 152 on the fixer on an adjacent leg. Thereby, the cross bars 13 and the legs 11 are combined.
The [0013] tabletop unit 20 is composed of a plurality of laths 21, a plurality of connecting tubes 24, and a string 22 of a predetermined length. Each of the laths 21 has two transverse holes 210 each an end thereof; two connecting tubes are embedded between two laths by inserting two ends each in the transverse holes 210 of each lath so that those two laths can be combined. The string 22 goes through each of the transverse holes 210 and laths 21 so that the laths 21 associated with the tabletop unit 20 are combined to form a tabletop, which covers a large surface area The string is further tightened and knotted at two ends to keep the laths 21 forming a tabletop from disintegration. Two fixing covers 23 are placed on the lower surface of two outmost laths of the lath set 21. Each of the fixing covers 23 is closed at one end and open at the other; the open end receives the fixing connectors 16 of two cross bars 13 underneath. The tabletop unit 20 and the supporting are thus combined.
As shown in FIG. 3, an extendable sectional table not in use is in a separate and folded state. To use the table, the [0014] legs 11 and the connecting frames 12 are pulled to stretch out, forming the extended state as shown in FIG. 1. During the stretch the fixer 15 of each of the legs 11 is fixed, whereas the sleeve 14 of each of the legs 11 is moving along the leg it encircles. A set of cross bars 13 is then inserted between the fixing pins 151 on the fixers 15 of the legs 11. At the same time, those cross bars 13 are interconnected by using a fixing connector 16 between every two of the cross bars 13. Each of the cross bars 13 is further stabilized by inserting a dowel pin 152 on each fixer 15 into the hole 130 of a cross bar 13 and a dowel pin 152 on another fixer 15 into the dowel hole 160 on the fixing connector 16. The supporting unit 10 is thereby erected for use. A set of laths 21 of a tabletop unit 20 is then paved across two rows of combined cross bars 13, each lath connected to the other lath by a pair of connecting tubes 24 embodied between transverse holes 210 formed in those two laths. Two fixing covers 23 are placed at two ends of the combined laths 21 to connect the tabletop unit 20 with the supporting unit 10. The string 22 going through all transverse holes 210 of the laths 21 is then tightened and knotted at two ends to prevent the laths 21 from disintegration. The extendable sectional table is thus completed and ready for use.
To take the extendable sectional table apart for moving or storage, the [0015] string 22 is firstly unknotted and loosened so that the fixing covers 23 can be taken off the cross bars 13 and moved away from the tabletop unit 20. By unplugging those connecting tubes 24, the laths 21 are then separated and can be folded, as shown in FIG. 3. Further, the fixing connectors 16 are unplugged from the cross bars 13, and the cross bars 13 are taken off from the fixers 15 of the legs 11. After that, sliding the sleeves 14 on each of the legs 11 downward easily collapses the connecting frames 12 between the legs 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the folded structure of the tabletop unit 20 and the collapsed structure of the supporting unit 10 are so compact and can be stored easily.
According to the above descriptions, the present invention of a extendable sectional table has at least the following advantages: [0016]
The extendable sectional table is easy to stretch out or fold, without tools. [0017]
The extendable sectional table is very stable when erected, which is achieved by a set of connecting [0018] frames 12 interconnecting the legs 11 and cross bars 13 being connected by fixing connectors 16 and being locked on the tops of the legs 11 by a number of fixing pins 151 and a dowel pin 152. A plurality of supporting units 10 can be easily combined to form a tough supporting base that covers a large area. The tabletop is composed of a set of laths 21, which can he folded and stacked up into a compact pile, easy for moving around.
The [0019] laths 21 combined by connecting tubes 24 and a string 22 forms a large planar surface, which is difficult to fall apart. Two fixing covers 23 are each placed on the lower surface of each of the outmost laths of the lath set 21 for receiving the ends of two rows of combined cross bars 13 so as to integrate the supporting unit 10 and the tabletop unit 20 into one body; further, the tabletop unit 20, supported by the cross bars 13, not only the legs 11, can sustain a heavy load placed above. The tabletop unit 20 is easily extendable by adding laths and increasing the length of the string 22. The supporting unit 10 is easily extendable by adding in units of two legs 11, three connecting frames 12, and two cross bars 13; the extendibility is particularly suitable for occasions such as exhibitions, parties, religious gatherings, . . . etc.; an extendable sectional table according to the present invention has the advantage that the tabletop is straight and flat, compared with a long tabletop formed by putting a number f tables together;. An extendable sectional table according to the present invention may also be arranged into a round table by using a single supporting unit 10 and arranging the laths 21 of a tabletop unit 20 into a round shape. The present invention is thus described, and it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An extendable sectional table comprising:

at least one supporting unit having a predetermined number of legs, a plurality of connecting frames, and a plurality of cross bars; each of said legs having a fixer on top and a sleeve sliding thereon; said fixer and said sleeve each having a predetermined number of pivot plates pivotably connected to said connecting frames; four fixing pins and a dowel pin respectively erecting at four corners and at a center of a top of a fixer; a hole being formed to be close to an end of each of said cross bars, and a fixing connector with a dowel hole being received at another end of each said cross bar; said cross bars being combined by said fixing connectors; said cross bars being locked on said fixers by said fixing pins and said dowel pins; said hole on each of said cross bars receiving a dowel pin, whereas said dowel hole on each of said fixing connectors receiving a dowel pin on an adjacent fixer; and

a tabletop unit having of a predetermined number of laths, a plurality of hollow connecting tubes, and a string; each of said laths having two transverse holes on each end thereof; a pair of said connecting tubes connecting two laths by extending two ends of each connecting tube into said transverse holes; said string going through each of said transverse holes and said laths, and being tightened and knotted so as to form a firm tabletop; two fixing covers being placed on a lower surface of two outmost laths of said tabletop; an open end of each of said fixing covers receiving said fixing connectors of two cross bars underneath, thereby combining said tabletop unit and said supporting unit; said extendable sectional table being extended by means of connecting a number of extra supporting units to said supporting unit and adding more laths to said tabletop unit;

wherein in assembly above structure, by the cross bars and the fixers, the at least one supporting unit will be fixed and is not folded by mistake; a number of supporting unit can be assembled as desired; moreover, the tabletop unit can be assembled to have a larger area by the connecting tubes and capable to being connected to the cross bars of the supporting unit; thereby a table with a desired area can be achieved.

2. The extendable sectional table of claim 1, wherein only one supporting unit is utilized to support a tabletop unit; laths of different lengths being arranged together to form a round tabletop unit; said supporting unit and said tabletop unit combining to form a round table.