US3011227A - Furniture clamp - Google Patents

Description

Dec 5, 1951 H. AJvoGl-:L 3,011,227

FURNITURE CLAMP Filed Sept. 17, 1959 i Ll-.

IN VEN TOR.

United States lPatent O 3,011,227 FURNITURE CLAMP Harold A. Vogel, London, Ontario, Canada, assignor to No-Sag Spring Company, Detroit, Mich., a Michigan corporation Filed Sept. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 840,571 1 Claim. (Cl. 20-92) This invention relates to clamps for Ifurniture, and parj ticularly to a clamp for securing sectional units of furniture together in fixed, selected relation to each other.

It is the practice in the furniture art to place sectional furniture units in longitudinal extension or angular disposition relative to each other to conform to the seating arrangement desired for a room. In view of the fact that the various units may be placed in different relationship to each other, means should be provided fory retaining them in the `fixed selected relationship.

The present invention embodies a U-shaped clamp made of'heavy wire or strap material having a web and two extending converging arms which are bent inwardly and outwardly near the ends to form point contacts which retain the sectional units together. The clamps snap over a pair of adjacent rails yfrom the bottom of the units upwardly from the under side thereof. A pair of the clamps will maintain the sectional units in fixed relation to each other whether in longitudinal extension or in angular disposition when disposed in a predetermined seating arrangement.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide a U-shaped clamp having a web and extending arms which converge toward each other for the purpose of applying a clamping pressure between two adjacent rails of a pair of sectional units; to provide a clamp for securing adjacent rails of sectional furniture units together having a web portion and converging arms which are formed inwardly and outwardly at the ends; to provide point engagement for producing substantial pressure while permitting the clamps to be readily applied over the rails, and, in general, to provide a clamp for securing adjacent rails of sectional furniture units in fixed relation ture units disposed in longitudinal extension of each other and secured together by clamps embodying` the present invention; A

FIG. 2 is a broken perspective view of the under side of the adjacent portionsfof the sectional furniture units of FIG. l; showing the vclamps securing the adjacent rail elements together;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG'. 2, taken on the line 3--3 thereof, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the clampsillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Y p

The sectional furniture units may be arranged from time to time in angular extensionv or longitudinal disposition to each other `to conform to a particular room or 3,011,227 Patented Dec. 5,1961

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corner in which the furniture is to be placed. Diilculty has always been experienced because the sections, being independent units, would not remain in abutted relationship to each other. While the need of securing means for retaining the various units into secured relationship has long been known, it is believed this need has been supplied by the present clamp which secures the adjacent rails of sectional units together without/harming the upholstery material on the abutted faces of the rails when clamped together.

In FIG. l, a sectional furniture unit 10 is illustrated secured to a sectional unit 11 in longitudinal extension of each other. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the adjacent rails 12 and 13 of the two sectional units 10 and 11 are illustrated as being secured together by U-shaped clamps 14. The rails 12 and 13 have upholstery material 15 and 16 on the abutted faces whi-chis not harmed in any manner when the rails are secured in fixed relation to each other. The clamps 14 are of U-shape made of heavy wire or strap material having a'web 17 and two extending arms 18. The arms converge toward each other and have a reversely bent section 19 near the end which provides oppositely disposed gripping points 21. The. sections 19 act as cam means for spreading the arms 18 when forced upwardly over the pair of rails 12 and 13 to have the points 21 apply pressure near the upper portion of the rails at directly opposite points. It was found that two of the clamps 14 provide sufficient pressure for retaining the two sections 10 and 11 in fixed relation to each other.

A fabric material 22 may be stretched across the rails lto cover the bottom area of each of the sectional units,

requiring the'clips 14 to puncture the cloth before being moved over the two rails 12 and 13. Normally, the cloth is of open mesh weave and is readily punctured by the ends of the arms 18. However, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the ends 23 of the arms may be lcut at an angle or otherwise treated to provide sharp points which readily penetrate the fabric 22 adjacent to the rails and minimize any tearing which might otherwise occur to the fabric material. By employing the clips 14, the sectional units may be placed together in longitudinal extension or angular" 'disposition lrelative to each other, with the cover material on'the face of the rails in= abutting relation. The rails are secured in fixed abutted position by sliding the clamps 14 thereof with the points 21 in contact with the inner faces thereof so as not to mar anyy visible portion of the sectional units. The gripping portions 21 ofthe clamps secure the sectional units together without any damage .to the frame and with the securing clips'invisible from `any said rails with said web engaging the bottom of the railsv and the projecting point providedfby each of the inwardly and outwardly deflected portions engaging opposite sides of the rail at aligned points for clamping the rails in unit relation toeach other, the web of the clamp having a length equal to the combined width of each of saidv f ails so that the lower end of each of said arms engages the lower outer edge of each ofthe .rails to provide an additional two Contact points for preventing the rails from moving apart.y

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS A t Bicknell Jan. 22, 1946 Brown Apr. 5, 1949 Nelsson Feb. 9, 1954 Olsen Dec. 21, 1954 Wilson Sept. 23, 1958 Milliken Aug. 11, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS sweden Jan. 21, 1941

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