US2006238085A1PendingUtilityA1

Furniture system

46
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Apr 23, 2005Filed: Apr 23, 2005Published: Oct 26, 2006
Est. expiryApr 23, 2025(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Bertram M. Greenberg
A47B 51/00
46
PatentIndex Score
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Cited by
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References
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Claims

Abstract

One of the inventor's concepts is a furniture system comprising first and second articles of furniture and a hoist. The hoist raises the first article of furniture. The second article of furniture fits the freed space underneath enhancing its utilization. Another of the inventor's concepts is a freestanding frame to support a hoist that can raise an article of furniture. The system can be installed without the aid of a contractor and without damaging ceilings or walls. The frame can be a cabinet. A cabinet allows the furniture to be stored against a wall or as a room partition while hiding the stored furniture from view. These concepts can be used to increase the utility of a room. Multiple articles of furniture having different uses can be stored in one or more cabinets and or closets and selectively removed to adapt the room to one or another function.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . A furniture system, comprising: 
 a frame;    a hoist supported by the frame;    a first article of household furniture; and    a second article of household furniture on rollers;    wherein the system is configured in such a way that while the frame remains standing on a floor, the hoist can raise the first article of furniture from a lower position, in which the first article of furniture blocks the second article of furniture from rolling across the floor to beneath the first article of furniture, to a raised position, from about 4 to about 7 feet off the ground, in which the second article of furniture is unblocked and can be rolled on its rollers across the floor to a position underneath the first article of furniture, whereby the two articles of furniture can be stored with the first article of furniture raised above the second article of furniture, the second article of furniture can be rolled out of the way and the first article of furniture lowered to a more accessible position, and these operations can be carried out without attaching the frame to a wall or ceiling.    
   
   
       2 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , further comprising a cabinet, wherein the first and second articles of furniture can be stored together in the cabinet.  
   
   
       3 . (canceled)  
   
   
       4 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and the second articles of furniture have coordinated decorative features making them a matched set.  
   
   
       5 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 third and fourth articles of household furniture; and    a second hoist supported by the frame;    wherein the third and fourth articles of furniture can be stored simultaneously with the first and second articles of furniture with the third article of furniture raised over the fourth article of furniture.    
   
   
       6 . The furniture system of  claim 5 , wherein the frame fits against a flat wall substantially within a space extending no more than about 30″ from the wall.  
   
   
       7 . (canceled)  
   
   
       8 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the first article of furniture is also on rollers; and    the first and the second articles of furniture are adapted to readily couple with and decouple from the hoist, whereby:    the second article of furniture can be rolled out from beneath the first article of furniture;    the first article of furniture can then be lowered by the hoist, decoupled from the hoist, and rolled out of the way;    the second article of furniture can then be coupled to the hoist and raised by the hoist; and    the first article of furniture can then be rolled underneath the second article of furniture.    
   
   
       9 . A method of increasing the utility of a room, comprising: 
 storing at least a first and a second article of household furniture in a cabinet using a frame and a hoist in a system according to  claim 2;     removing at least the second article of furniture from the cabinet to adapt the room from a first use-type selected from the group consisting of living room, dining room, gym, office, bedroom, pantry, and library to a second use-type selected from that group.    
   
   
       10 . A method of altering the function of a room, comprising: 
 storing at least a first and a second article of household furniture in one or more cabinets in one or more systems according to  claim 2     removing at least one article of household furniture from the one or more cabinets to adapt the room to a first function selected from the group consisting of functions of living room, dining room, gym, office, bedroom, and pantry and    storing at least the one article of household furniture in the one or more cabinets and removing at least one other article of household furniture from the one or more cabinets to adapt the room to a different function selected from the group consisting of functions of living room, dining room, gym, office, bedroom, and pantry.    
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the hoist in raising the first article of furniture creates a footprint of available space underneath the first article of furniture; and    the second article of furniture in fitting beneath the first article of furniture occupies at least about 75% of the footprint of available space.    
   
   
       12 . (canceled)  
   
   
       13 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the first and the second articles of household furniture are selected from the group consisting of cases of shelves, desks, file cabinets, tables, bureaus, armoires, and bars.    
   
   
       14 . (canceled)  
   
   
       15 . (canceled)  
   
   
       16 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is adapted for use in an apartment or single-family home living space selected from the group consisting of living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens.  
   
   
       17 . A furniture system, comprising: 
 a hoist;    a frame supporting the hoist;    a first article of furniture selected from the group consisting of cases of shelves, desks, file cabinets, tables, bureaus, armoires, and bars; and    a second article of furniture on casters and of a type selected from the group consisting of cases of shelves, desks, file cabinets, tables, bureaus, armoires, and bars;    wherein the sum of the heights of first and second articles of furniture is at least about 85% of the height of the frame;    wherein the frame is free-standing in that the frame is capable of remaining erect and undamaged while only supported by a floor on which the frame stands while the hoist supported only by the frame raises the heavier of the first article of furniture and an evenly distributed 50 lb load;    the hoist is adapted to raise the first article of furniture from a first lower position to a second raised position while the frame is free standing on a floor;    the frame has an opening to one side whereby, while the frame is free standing on the floor and the first article of furniture is in the raised position, the second article of furniture can be rolled across the floor to a position underneath the first article of furniture; and    the system is adapted for the hoist to raise the first article of furniture, whereby the second article of furniture can be stored underneath the first article of furniture using space freed by raising the first article of furniture.    
   
   
       18 . (canceled)  
   
   
       19 . The furniture system of  claim 17 , further comprising: 
 a free standing cabinet that can be used to hide the first and second articles of furniture from view while the first article is lifted by the hoist and the second article of furniture is stored underneath the first article of furniture;    wherein the frame can be an integral part of the cabinet.    
   
   
       20 . The furniture system of  claim 19 , wherein the cabinet is adapted for use in an apartment or single-family home living space selected from the group consisting of living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens.  
   
   
       21 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 third and fourth articles of household furniture;    a second hoist; and    a second frame adjacent the first frame;    wherein the third and fourth articles of furniture can be stored with the third article of furniture raised over the fourth article of furniture while supported by the second frame.    
   
   
       22 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a free standing cabinet that can hide the first and second articles of furniture from view while the first article is in the raised position and the second article of furniture is beneath the first article of furniture;    wherein the frame can be an integral part of the cabinet.    
   
   
       23 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein the frame is from about 8 to about 12 feet tall.  
   
   
       24 . The furniture system of  claim 1 , wherein the sum of the heights of the first and second articles of furniture is at least about 85% of the height of the frame.  
   
   
       25 . The furniture system of  claim 17 , wherein the frame is from about 8 to about 12 feet tall.  
   
   
       26 . A method of increasing the utility of a room, comprising installing within the room a first article of furniture, a second article of furniture, a hoist, and a frame in furniture system according to  claim 1 , wherein the frame nearly spans the floor to ceiling height.  
   
   
       27 . A method of increasing the utility of a room, comprising installing within the room a first article of furniture, a second article of furniture, a hoist, and a frame in furniture system according to  claim 17 , wherein the frame nearly spans the floor to ceiling height.  
   
   
       28 . The furniture system of  claim 17 , wherein: 
 the first article of furniture is also on casters; and    the first and the second articles of furniture are adapted to readily couple with and decouple from the hoist, whereby:    the second article of furniture can be rolled out of from beneath the first article of furniture;    the first article of furniture can then be lowered by the hoist, decoupled from the hoist, and rolled out of the way;    the second article of furniture can then be coupled to the hoist and raised by the hoist; and    the first article of furniture can then be rolled underneath the second article of furniture.

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