US3031244A - Furniture construction - Google Patents

Description

April 24, 1962 B. STOPEK FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 4, 1960 IN V EN TOR. BENJAM/N S TOPEK ATTORNEY April 1962 B. STOPEK 3,031,244

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 INVENTOR. BENJAMIN JTOPEK BYMJZZZ/ AT RNE) April 24, 1962 B. STOPEK 3,031,244

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. BE NJA MIN .16 TOPE K A TTORNE Y April 24, 1962 B. STOPEK FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. BENJA M/N STOPEK BY Z% A TTORNE'Y 3,031,244 FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Benjamin Stopek, West Hempstead, N.Y., assignor to Ideal Toy Corporation, Hollis, N.Y. Filed Aug. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 47,457 8 Claims. (Cl. 311100) The present invention relates generally to furniture, and specifically to a knock-down furniture construction wherein the legs of an article of furniture may be releasably secured to a body thereof, which construction finds useful application in the manufacture of tables, chairs, and the like.

It is often desirable in various articles of furniture, to provide knock-down features whereby the legs thereof may be releasably secured to, and then detach from, the body of the article. Such a feature is particularly attractive in situations where the article of furniture is to be transported and stored by the consumer. Further, the knock-down feature is particularly advantageous where it is important that the distribution of the furniture be acheived at a relatively lowunit cost and where a large number of individual units are involved each having a relatively low unit cost.

A persistent problem in the sale and handling of furniture is caused by the rather bulky characteristics of most articles of furniture, particularly tables, chairs and other like pieces wherein a large portion of the bulk is produced by the depending legs. A partial solution to this problem is to ship such pieces of furniture in a disassembled condition for subsequent assembly at the retail outlet. Although the shipping and storage problems are reduced by this expedient, other problems associated with the disassembly before packing and the reassembly before sale are introduced. In addition, this type of distribution, wherein the retailer is required to assemble the furniture before sale, restricts sales through the majority of retail outlets which are not equipped to perform these hand assembly operations.

The most desirable form of distribution is one in which the articles of furniture may be originally packed in a carton or the like, shipped to the retailer in that carton, and then sold directly to the consumer without any requirement for the carton to be opened. This may beaccomplished by providing a knock-down feature in the article of furniture such that the legs of the furniture are not initially attached to the body of the furniture, but

rather, are packed in their unassembled state. A sample piece of furniture may be on display at the retail outlet as assembled; however, the articles of furniture which are ultimately sold to the public may be placed in conventional cardboard sale boxes and sold in units directly to the customer. This obviously eliminates a great number of differing distribution and storage problems which ordinarily accompany the sale of furniture items, thus allowing for mass distribution wherein relatively low distribution costs are incurred and wherein a relatively low unit price may be maintained. Such features are particularly advantageous in the distribution and sale of the childrens furniture or play furniture wherein the requirements for low price is of high importance and wherein the ultimate consumer will often wish to assemble and disassemble the article of furniture for transportation and storage after the final sale. 1

In addition to the long existing demand for furniture having good knock-down characteristics, there has grown up in recent years a demand for furniture construction Unite States P w- 3,031,244 Patented Apr. 24%, 1962 "ice wherein the individual parts of the article of furniture are constructed of molded plastic or the like. Whereas conventional furniture designs are ideally suited for manufacture out of wood, metal and the like, the use of plastic in similarly constructed furniture has not proved highly successful. The mechanical characteristics of plastic materials is such that the interaction of furniture legs with the body of the furniture, when plastic construction materials are involved, should be of a design wherein the unique mechanical properties of such materials are used to their fullest advantage.

Generally, it is the object of the present invention to provide a knock-down furniture construction wherein one or more of the above advantages are realized. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a furniture construction having knock-down characteristics facilitating low cost handling and distribution.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro- .vide a furniture construction finding useful application in a variety of differing furniture items, such as tables,

chairs, etc., wherein a majority of the component parts of the table may be constructed of molded plastic.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a furniture construction finding useful application in a variety of differing furniture items, such as tables, chairs, etc., wherein a majority of the component parts of the table may be constructed of molded plastic.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a furniture assembly wherein the leg and the body of the furniture assembly may be shipped and handled in a knocked down condition thereby saving space and eliminating bulky handlng problems.

In accordance with one illustrative embodiment demonstrating-features of the present invention there is provided a table. construction comprising a top and having formed therein depending tapered leg-mounting members at each corner. A leg is positioned at each corner of the top and formed with an upwardly opened socket which is complementary to and receives the adjacent legmounting member. Means are provided for releasably securing each of the table legs to the top wherein the depending leg-mounting members are received within the socket formed in the leg. The releasable securing means for fastening the table legs to the table top includes a latching member which is pivotally mounted on the furniture leg and a latching dog on the table top which is engaged by the latching member. The pivoting action of the latching member is effective to securely engage the leg socket within the complementary leg-mounting member such as to rigidly attach the leg to the table top.

As still a further feature of the present invention, there are provided bracing means to add further rigidity to the assembly of the legs and the furniture body. Each of the legs are formed with a brace receiving opening adapted to receive the bracing means at a bracing location spaced below the leg socket- Bracing arms are provided which .have a hooked terminal section at their lower ends which are received in .the adjacent brace-receiving openings when the legs are turned to an assembly position wherein the respective sockets are turned away from the leg-mounting members. The legs are turned substantially end for end and rotated to an assembled position wherein the hooked terminal section of the bracing arms are in a bracing position straddling the hollow interiors of the legs at their bracing locations. The other end of each bracing arm is formed with appropriate securement means for attachment to the table top to brace the legs with respect thereto.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention can be best appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred'embodirnent, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a table constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded view of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 and are partial perspective views of a corner of the table shown in FIG. 1 progressively illustrating the attachment of a leg onto the table body by means of the releasable securement means. Specifically:

FIG. 3 illustrates the U-shaped latching member being placed through the cut-outs of the body of the table;

FIG. 4 illustrates the securement of the U-shaped latching member to the leg; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the camming action of the latching member which is effective to secure the leg to the body of the table;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a corner portion of the table as shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the releasable securement means;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 6 and illustrating the depending leg-mounting member within the leg and securement made by the releasable securement means:

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the bracing portion of a leg illustrating the hooked terminal portion of a bracing arm secured within the leg;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view similar to the exploded view of FIG. 2 illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention wherein a second form of bracing is employed;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the portion of the table as illustrated in FIG. 9 illustrating the leg-mounting means thereof and further illustrating the attachment of a brace arm to the body of the table; and,

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the lines 11-11 of FIG. 10 and looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the attachment of a brace arm to the body of the table.

Referring now specifically to the drawings there is shown in FIG. 1 a table construction generally designated by the numeral 1%) which includes a table top 12, four depending legs 14 located at each of the corners of the top 12 and brace means 16 secured between each of the legs 14 and to the top 12. The table construction 10 is shown as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, however, it should be appreciated that the present invention may find useful embodiment in a variety of other furniture assemblies wherein a plurality of legs support a body, the table top 10 being represented in other forms of furniture by a chair seat, a chest bottom or any other furniture member which is to be supported on legs.

The table top 12 includes a bottom wall 18 which is surrounded by four upstanding walls 20 extending upwardtherefrom, the bottom wall 18 and the upstanding wall 20 effectively defining a well 22 within the table top 12. A marginal flange 24 forms the peripheral edge of the table top 12 and is composed of a fiat ledge 26 spaced above the bottom wall 18 depending side walls 28 which are substantially parallel to the upstanding walls 20 of the well 22. The well 22 may serve as a storage body for miscellaneous items and may be covered with a flat top surface, such as 12a as seen in FIG. 1, for use as a normal table surface, a playing board or other use.

At each of these four corners of the bottom wall 18 the table top 20 there are located integrally formed frustro conical depending leg-mounting members 30. Adjacent to and on opposite sides of each depending leg-mounting members 30 are formed a pair of cut-outs in the bottom wall 18. The construction of the depending leg-mounting member, the cut-out 32 and the configuration of the surrounding portions of the bottom wall 18 will be more 1 fully detailed below in connection with a description of the securement means by which a leg 14 is rigidly and releasably secured to the table 12.

Each of the legs 14 are substantially identical and includes a main conical leg-portion 34 of downwardly decreasing cross section and a base portion 36 of generally conical configuration having a taper approximately equal and opposite to that of the main portion 34. The leg 14 terminates at the base portion in a rubber or the like footing 38 suitably secured to the base portion 36.

At its upper end, the leg 14 is formed with a marginal rim 40 having a pair of depending lugs 42 at opposite sides of the rim 40 into which has been formed pivot holes 44. A U-shaped latching member 46, which will be more fully described below, is positioned through the cut-out 32 and the bottom wall 20 and engages the pivot holes 44 on the leg 14. The latching member 46, the depending leg-mounting member 30, and the complementary internal surface of the main leg-portion 34 are elfecitve, as will be detailed below, to securely fasten the leg 14 to the table top 12.

In the first illustrative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the brace means 16 includes a pair of substantially V-shaped brace members 48 including a pair of bracing arms 50, 52. At the apex of the legs 50, 52 an integral bolt-receiving eye 54 is formed by means of which the brace members 48 are secured to a central hole 56 formed in the bottom wall 13 of the table top 12 by means of the bolt and washer 58 and wing-nut 60. Each of the legs 50, 52 is formed with a hooked terminal section 62 which is effectively engaged within a brace-receiving opening 64 formed within the main portion 30 of the leg 14 defining a bracing location therein.

As will be appreciated upon viewing the exploded view of FIG. 2 and the perspective view of FIG. 1, after the bracing means 16 have been connected to the leg 14, the legs 14 have been placed onto the depending legmounting members 30 on the table top 12, the latching members 46 have been effectively secured, and the bracing means 16 have been fastened to the bottom wall 18 of the table top 12, the table 10 is substantially in its completed and rigid form. The top wall 12a may then be secured to the table top 12 parallel to and above the bottom wall 18 and positioned within the marginal flange 24 to afford a smooth top surface to the table 12.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 for a specific description of the releasable securing means which are effective to secure the legs 14 to the table top 12. It should be noted in connection with the detailed views of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, that a raised section 18a is formed within the bottom wall 18 of the table top 10. The raised section 18a is non-parallel to the bottom wall 18 such that its highest portion is closest to the corner of the table top 12 and the section 18a is inclined downwardly towards the center of the table top 12. The raised and tilted section 18a is thereby effective to tilt the center line of the depending leg-mounting member 30 and is thereby effective to impart a tilt to the legs 14 secured thereto. As will be seen in FIG. 1, the individual legs of the table construction 10 depends from the table top 12 at a slight outward angle thereby providing increased rigidity to the table construction 10 and forming an esthetically pleasing overall configuration.

In FIG. 3 the latching member 46 is shown, as indicated by the dotted arrows, about to be placed within the cutouts 32 formed in the bottom wall 18, specifically within the raised section 18a. The latching member 46 is of generally U-shaped configuration having a bight portion 66 forming the base of the U and substantially parallel arms 68 extending away from the bight 66. At the ends of each of the arms 68 there are formed curved locking sections 70 which join the arms 68 at an abrupt bend 72. The locking sections 79 curve through approximately and terminate in inwardly directing stubs 74. As may be seen in FIG. 6, the locking sections 66 are parallel to each other and the stubs 78 extend inwardly towards each other. The cut-out 62 has a substantially L-shaped configuration formed by the inward extension 32a of the cut-out extending from the main portion of the cut-out 32 towards the oppositely located cut-out 32. The extension 32a of the cut-out 32 is provided such that the locking section 78 of the latching member 46 may be passed downwardly into the cut-out 32, the extension 32a providing clearance room for the extended stubs 74.

Immediately contiguous to the cut-out 32 on the bottom wall 18 are positioned the raised latching dogs 76 which are formed on opposite sides of the leg-mounting member 30 on the upper face of the bottom wall 18 and which project upwardly away from the depending leg-mounting member 38. The function of the latching dogs 76 will be best appreciated upon consideration of the description below of the operation of the latching member 46.

As seen in FIG. 4, the latching member 46 has been passed downwardly through the cut-out 32 such that bight portion 66 is flat against the upper face of the bottom wall 18. The arms 68 of the latching member 46 are then spread outwardly from each other and a cable leg 14 is placed into position for attachment of the latching member 46 thereto. The pivot holes 44 are properly aligned and the lugs 74 of the latching member 46 are placed thereinto such that a pivotal connection is formed between the latching member 46 and the leg 14. The natural springy characteristic of the material employed in the construction of the latching member 46 is such that the arms 68 spring back inot their substantially parallel configuration and are effective thereby to hold the lugs 74 into the pivot holes 44. The

relative positions of the table top 12 and its bottom to that shown in FIG. 5, the bight portion 66 of the latching member 46 is pulled upwardly with respect to table top 14, such that the leg socket 34a, which is provided by the inner conical surface of the leg 14, is brought into intimate contact with the complementary conical surface 30a of the depending leg-mounting member 30.

The latching member 46' is then rotated through approximately 90 from the dotted line position shown in FIG. 5 to the solid line position. This rotation of the latching member 46 is eifective to engage the locking section 70 of the latching member 46 against the latching dog 76 positioned on the bottom wall 18. It will be appreciated from a consideration of the geometry of the latching member 46 that as same is moved, the sharp bend 72 between the arm 64 and the latching section '70 presents an obstacle for the further free motion of the latching member 46. This interengagement of the latch ing member 46 with the latching dog 76 is efliective to cam the leg 14 upwardly by means of the stubs 74 such that a tight contact is insured between the leg socket 34a and the complementary leg-mounting member 30. As the latching member 46 is further rotated about the pivotal stubs 74 within the pivot hole 44, the sharp bend 72 is passed over the latching dog 76 and the locking section 70 is engaged therewith. The distance between the center of the stub 74 and the inside surface of the locking section '78 is slightly greater than the corresponding distance to the lower surface of the sharp bend 72 such that a slight detent is formed which is efiective to keep the latching member 46 in its latching position. The interaction of the leg 14, the socket 34a, the leg-mounting member 30, the latching dog 76 and the latching member 64 may be best seen in the sectional view of FIG. 6.

The table construction 18 may be made more rigid by i the provision of the bracing means 16. In the first illustrative embodiment of a furniture construction as illus- 'the exploded view of FIG. 2 wherein the forward lefthand leg 14 is shown in solid line and phantom configuration as it is assembled to the hook terminal section 62 of the arm 58. The legs 14 are secured to the brace members 48 before they are secured to the latching member 46 and to the table top and before the brace members 48 are attached to the mounting hole 56 in the table top 12. This is accomplished as diagrammatically shown in FIG. 2 wherein a leg 14 is held with its upper end facing downwardly as shown in the solid line configuration of FIG. 2. The end of the hooked terminal section 62 is inserted within the brace-receiving opening 64 in the leg 14 and the leg 14 is thereupon rotated substantially end for end pivoting about the brace-receiving opening until an upright position is received as indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 2. After this end for end rotation is complete the hook terminal section 62 will be contained completely within a hollow leg 14 with the arm 58 of the brace member 48 extending outwardly therefrom as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 8. It will be appreciated that the end of the hooked terminal section 62 abuts one side of the inside of the hollow leg 14 the other side of which is engaged by a portion of the curve of the terminal section 62. This interaction of the terminal sections 62 and the bracing locations of the legs 14 is eifec tive to secure the brace means 48 to the legs 14 and to prevent axial movement therebetween.

When each of the four legs 14 has been attached to their respective brace members 48 in the manner described above, the latching members 46' are secured to the upper portion of the leg 14 at the pivot holes 44 and the legs 14 are secured to the table top 12 as detailed above. The bolt-receiving eyes 54 of the brace members 48 are thereupon secured to the bottom wall 18 by means of the bolt and washer 58 passing through the hole 56 and into the wing nut 68. The bracing means 16 are thereby effective to provide firm structural connections between the bracing portions of the leg 14 and a central point of the table top 12.

I FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 disclose a second embodiment 10A of the present invention wherein a second form of bracing means, generally labeled 88, is providedto give added support to the legs 14 in addition to that support derived by. the depending leg-mounting members 30. In all instances other than the brace means 80, the table construction illustrated in FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 is identical to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8 with similar parts having similar functions. Therefore, a complete description of the table construction 18A shown in FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 will not be given, the description of FIGS. l through 8 being sufficient to describe the constructions.

The brace means 88 for the table 18a includes individual brace arms 82, 84-, 86, 88, one for each of the legs 14 employed in the table construction. Generally, each brace arm 82, 84, 86, 88 is secured to the brace receiving opening 64 of the leg 14 at one end by means of its hooked terminal section 62, and is secured to the bottom wall 18 of the table top at its other end by attachment to the brace-mounting holes 98 provided in the diagonally opposite corner of the table top 18. The brace arms 82,

' 84, 86, 88 cross each other intermediate their ends at of attaching the individual legs 14 to the brace arms 82 is identical to that described in attaching leg 14 to one of the brace arms 50, 52 and after attachment thereto appears as is shown in the sectional view of FIG. 8 as described above. At its other end, the brace arms 82, 84, 86, 88 terminate in S-shaped securement sections 94 which are effectively attached to the bottom wall 18 and the brace-mounting holes 99 as is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. The length of the brace arms 82, 84, 86, 88 is such that it equals the distance between the inner seating surface at the bracing section of one leg 14 to the brace mounting hole 90 at the opposite corner of the table top 12. At this point the S-shaped securement section 94 begins with the first bend 96 of that S-shaped section. As seen in FIG. 11, the first bend of the S-shaped securement section 92 is eifective to bring the brace arm 82 upwardly through the bottom wall 18. As shown in the present illustrative embodiment, wherein a raised and tilted section 18a is formed as explained above, the second bend 98 is spaced along the S-shaped securement section 92 such that the tail portion 100 of the securement section 92 is effective to lie in juxtaposed relation to a portion of the raised section 18a adjacent to the brace mounting hole 90. As will be appreciated by viewing FIG. 11, the S-shaped securement section 92 and the mounting hole 90 are effective to provide a firm seating for the brace arm 82 into the bottom wall 18 of the table top 12. Axial motion of the brace arm 82 is inhibited by the complimentary shape of the S-shaped securement section 92, the brace mounting hole 90 and the raised portion 18a of the bottom wall 18. In an embodiment of the present invention wherein a raised section, such as 18a is not provided, the same results will be achieved by shortening the distance between the first bend 96 of the S-shaped securement section 92 and the second bend 98 such that intimate contact of the tail 10% will exist with the top of the bottom wall 18.

After the brace arms '82, 34, 86, 88 have been secured to their respective legs 14 and their brace mounting holes 90, the clamping member 92 is secured about the cross over point of the brace arms by passing the clamp body 102 over that intersection and threading the wing nut 104 upon the bolt 106 past the appropriate holes within the clamp body 192. The second embodiment brace means 80 will be thereby effective to form an additional brace means to rigidly secure the legs 14 to the table top 12 in the table construction 10A.

It should be further realized that the present invention may be practiced without the use of any bracing means such as brace means 16 or brace means 80. The securement of the individual legs 14 to the depending leg-mounting members 30 by means of the sockets 34a and the mounting members 30 is sufficient in many instances to rigidly secure the said legs 14 to the table top 12 without any further bracing support. However, it is noted that when the material used to form both the legs 14 and the table top 12 has fairly flexible mechanical characteristics it will often be desirable to provide some sort of bracing means to insure a rigid construction.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that there is provided in accordance with the present invention a furniture construction providing knock-down features having advantageous characteristics. The invention as herein disclosed provides leg-mounting means on the body portion on a piece of furniture wherein easy assembly and disassembly of the legs to the body may be accomplished. Easily operated, releasable securement means are provided for releasably securing each of the legs to the body of the furniture construction. Brace means are further provided which are effective to secure a rigid construction of the legs with respect to the body and further, which are easily and securely assembled to the legs and to the body. The furniture construction herein provided is such that upon disassembly the individual parts may be completely detached such that they may be packaged in an efficient manner. Further, each of the parts of the furniture construction may be formed of a molded or otherwise shaped material at a relatively low cost.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be used without a use of other corresponding features accordingly, the claims herein should be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An article of furniture including a base having a bottom wall, a depending tapered mounting member at each corner of said base and depending from said bottom Wall, said bottom wall being formed with a cutout adjacent one side of each mounting member, a leg at each corner of said base means at the upper end of each leg providing a tapered socket complementary to and receiving the adjacent leg-mounting member, means for releasably securing each of said legs to said base with the respective leg-mounting member received within said sockets, each of the releasable securing means including a locking member fabricated of a springy material and including an arm, means at one end of said arm providing a stub shaft for pivotally connecting said arm to the adjacent leg and means at the other end serving as a handle, said locking member being located in said bottom wall and said arm being extended through said cutout, journaling means on the adjacent leg receiving said stub shaft for pivotal engagement, said socket being telescoped over the adjacent mounting member in response to an upwardly directed pull on said handle while said locking member is in substantially vertical position, and interengaging camming means on said bottom wall and on said locking member, said interengaging camming means including a camming dog on said bottom wall contiguous to said cutout underlying said arm and a cooperating camming section on said arm, said camming dog and section being arranged such that a locking action occurs as said locking member is pivoted from said vertical position to a substantially horizontal position wherein said handle bears against said bottom wall, and brace means operatively connected to said legs and to said base.

2. A table comprising a top having a shallow well including a bottom wall, a depending tapered mounting member at each corner of said top and depending from said bottom wall, said bottom wall being formed with a cutout adjacent one side of each mounting member, a leg at each corner of said top, means at the upper end of each leg providing a tapered socket complementary to and receiving the adjacent leg-mounting member, means for releasably securing each of said legs to said top with the respective leg-mounting members received within said sockets, each of the releasable securing means including a locking member fabricated of a springy material and including an arm, means at the free end of said arm providing a stub shaft for pivotally connecting said arm to the adjacent leg and means at the other end serving as a handle, said locking member being located in said bottom wall and said arm being extended through said cutout, journaling means on the adjacent leg receiving said stub shaft for pivotal engagement, said socket being telescoped over the adjacent mounting member in response to an upwardly directed pull on said handle while said locking member is in substantially vertical position, and interengaging camming means on said bottom wall and on said locking member, said interengaging camming means including a camming dog on said bottom wall contiguous to said cutout underlying said arm and a coopcrating camming section on said arm, said camming dog and section being arranged such that a locking action occurs as said locking member is pivoted from said vertical position to a substantially horizontal position wherein said handle bears against said bottom wall, and brace means operatively connected to said legs and to said top.

3. A furniture base having a shallow well including a bottom wall, a depending frusto-conical mounting member at each corner of said base and depending from said bottom wall, said bottom wall being formed with an opposed pair of spaced cutouts at opposite sides of each mounting member, a leg at each corner of said base, means at the upper end of each leg providing a frusto-conical socket complementary to and receiving the adjacent leg-mounting member, means for releasably securing each of said legs to said base with the respective leg-mounting members received within said sockets, each of the releasable securing means including a substantially U-shaped locking member fabricated of a springy material and including an opposed pair of spaced arms interconnected by a bight serving as a handle, means at the free ends of said arms providing stub shafts for pivotally connecting said arms to the adjacent leg, said locking member being located in said bottom wall and said pair of arms being extended through the adjacent pair of cutouts, opposed journaling means on the adjacent leg-receiving said stub shafts when said pair of arms are urged apart and subsequently released, said socket being telescoped over the adjacent mounting member in response to an upwardly directed pull on said handle while said locking member is in substantially vertical position, and interengaging camming means on said bottom wall and on said locking member, said interengaging camming means including an opposed pair of camming dogs on said bottom wall contiguous to said pair of cutouts underlying said pair of arms and cooperating camming sections on said pair of arms, said camming dogs and sections being arranged such that a locking action occurs as said locking member is pivoted from said vertical position to a substantially horizontal position wherein said handle bears against said bottom Wall, and brace means operatively connected to said legs and to said base.

4. A table comprising a top having a shallow well including a bottom wall, a depending frusto-conical mounting member at each corner of said top and depending from said bottom wall, said bottom wall being formed with an opposed pair of spaced cutouts at opposite sides of each mounting member, a leg at each corner of said top, means at the upper end of each leg providing a frustoconical socket complementary to and receiving the adjacent leg-mounting member, means for releasably securing each of said legs to said top with the respective legmounting members received within said sockets, each of the releasably securing means including a substantially U-shaped locking member fabricated of a springy material and including an opposed pair of spaced arms interconnected by a bight serving as a handle, means at the free ends of said arms providing stub shafts for pivotally connecting said'arms to the adjacent leg, said locking member being located in said bottom wall and said pair of arms being extended through the adjacent pair of cutouts, opposed journaling means on the adjacent leg receiving said stub shafts when said pair of arms are urged apart and subsequently released, said socket being telescoped over the adjacent mounting member in response to an upwardly directed pull on said handle while said locking member is in substantially vertical position, and interengaging camming means on said bottom wall and on said locking member, said interengaging camming means including an opposed pair of camming dogs on said bottom wall contiguous to said pair of cutouts underlying said pair of arms and cooperating camming sections on said pair of arms, said camming dogs and sections being arranged such that a locking action occurs as said locking member is pivoted from said vertical position to a substantially horizontal position wherein said handle bears against said bottom wall, and brace means operatively connected to said legs and to said top.

5. A table according to claim 2 wherein said brace means includes a bracing arm for each of said legs and arranged to extend upwardly from a lower end at a bracing location on each of said legs to an upper end at a securing location on said top at the diagonally opposite corner of said top, each of said legs being formed with a brace-receiving opening at said bracing location spaced below the respective sockets and having a hollow interior at said bracing locations, the lower end of each bracing arm being formed with a hooked terminal section received in the adjacent brace-receiving opening when the legs are turned to an assembly position wherein the respective sockets are turned away from said top, said legs being turned substantially end for end and rotated to an assembled position wherein the hooked terminal sections are in bracing positions straddling the hollow interiors of said legs at said bracing locations, each corner of said table at said securing location being formed with a bracemounting opening mounting the upper ends of said bracing arms.

6. A table according to claim 2 having four legs wherein said brace means includes a pair of substantially V-shaped brace members, each bracing member including a pair of bracing arms meeting at an apical bolt-receiving eye and terminating at hooked terminal section, said legs being formed with brace-receiving openings at bracing locations spaced below the respective sockets and having a hollow interior at said locations, the respective hooked terminal sections of the pairs of bracing arms being received in said brace-receiving openings with the legs turned to an assembly position wherein the respective sockets are turned away from said top, said legs being turned substantially end for end and rotated to an assembled position wherein the hooked terminal sections of the respective braces are in bracing positions straddling the hollow interiors of said legs at said locations, and means connected through said bolt-receiving eyes and through said bottom wall of said top for securing said pair of bracing members in said bracing position with said legs in said assembled position.

7. A table according to claim 4 wherein said brace means includes a bracing arm for each of said legs and arranged to extend upwardly from a lower end at a bracing location on each of said legs to an upper end at securing location on said top at the diagonally opposite corner of said top, each of said legs being formed with a brace-receiving opening at said bracing location spaced below the respective sockets and having a hollow interior at said bracing locations, the lower end of each bracing arm being formed with a hooked terminal section received in the adjacent brace-receiving opening when the legs are turned to an assembly position wherein the respective sockets are turned away from said top, said legs being turned substantially end for end and rotated to an assembled position wherein the hooked terminal sections are in bracing positions straddling the hollow interiors of said legs at said bracing locations, each corner of said table being formed with a brace-mounting opening at said securing location, the upper end of each bracing arm being formed with a securement section received in the adjacent brace-mounting opening.

8. A furniture base according to claim 1 wherein said brace means includes a bracing arm for each of said legs and arranged to extend upwardly from a lower end at a bracing location on each of said legs to an upper end at a securing location on said top at the diagonally opposite corner of said base, each of said legs being formed with a brace-receiving opening at said bracing location spaced below the respective sockets and having a hollow interior at said bracing locations, the lower end of each bracing arm being formed with a hooked terminal section received in the adjacent brace-receiving opening when the legs are turned to an assembly position wherein the respective sockets are turned away from said top, said legs being turned substantially end for end and rotated to an assembled position wherein the hooked terminal sections are in bracing positions straddling the hollow interiors of said legs at said bracing locations, each corner of said base being formed with a brace-mounting opening at said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Shortall May 9, 1905 12 Shrader July 3, 1928 MacFadden Dec. 17, 1940 MacFadden Feb. 4, 1941 Heifetz Apr. 19, 1955 Campbell Mar. 13, 1956 Cvikich Mar. 19, 1957 Burdick July 1, 1958 Healy May 5, 1959

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