Furniture for mitigating the effects of a disaster

Abstract

A piece of furniture comprising a first part including a first outer surface, a second part including a second outer surface, a seam formed at an interface of the first part and the second part, and a polymer coating adhered to the first outer surface and to the second outer surface and extending over the seam. A piece of furniture comprising a work surface including an upper surface and an underside and defining a plane, the work surface supportable at a work level forming a space at the underside of the work surface and a panel positionable in the space at the underside of the work surface, the panel including a curved outer surface and a wall selected to be resistant to passage therethough of flying debris and a substructure to support the wall. A piece of furniture comprising a work surface including an upper surface and an item securing system including a retainer engaged to the work surface to releasably secure an office object thereto.

1 . A piece of furniture comprising a first part including a first outer surface, a second part including a second outer surface, a seam formed at an interface of the first part and the second part, and a polymer coating adhered to the first outer surface and to the second outer surface and extending over the seam.  
   
   
       2 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an anchoring mechanism extending from the first outer surface such that the furniture can be secured to an external structural member of a room in which it is placed.  
   
   
       3 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an anchor securing the first part to the second part.  
   
   
       4 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising a substructure frame secured to the first part to reinforce the first part.  
   
   
       5 . The piece of furniture of  claim 4  wherein the substructure frame extends out from the first part to be fastened to an adjacent piece of furniture.  
   
   
       6 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the first part includes a rounded edge.  
   
   
       7 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the first part is a wall panel including a curved surface from side to side.  
   
   
       8 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising vents in the first part.  
   
   
       9 . The piece of furniture of  claim 8  wherein the vents are open.  
   
   
       10 . The piece of furniture of  claim 8  wherein the vents are openable by application of pressure thereto.  
   
   
       11 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an item securing system including a retainer to hold an object onto the first outer surface.  
   
   
       12 . The piece of furniture of  claim 11  wherein the item securing system includes a slot formed through the first part and the retainer of the item securing system is installed through the slot and accessible on the first outer surface.  
   
   
       13 . The piece of furniture of  claim 12  further comprising a substructure frame secured to the first part to reinforce the first part and wherein the slot is formed to open adjacent the frame and the retainer includes an end mounted on the frame.  
   
   
       14 . The piece of furniture of  claim 11  wherein the retainer is a flexible strap.  
   
   
       15 . The piece of furniture of  claim 11  wherein the retainer is a clamp.  
   
   
       16 . The piece of furniture of  claim 11  wherein the first part is a desktop and the retainer is sized to engage over and secure computer equipment to the desktop.  
   
   
       17 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an inner area defined by the first part and the second part, an opening to access the inner area, a closure panel to close over the opening and flush mounted external hardware on the closure panel.  
   
   
       18 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an inner area defined by the first part and the second part, an opening to access the inner area, a closure panel to close over the opening and, an automatic positive latching system acting between the closure panel and the opening, the automatic positive latching system acting to automatically releasably lock the closure panel when the closure panel is moved into a closed position.  
   
   
       19 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising a locator device manually or automatically operable to emit a location position signal.  
   
   
       20 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the polymer coating extends over the entirety of the first outer surface and the second outer surface.  
   
   
       21 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the polymer coating extends over the entirety of the first outer surface and a portion of the second outer surface.  
   
   
       22 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising an inner area defined by the first part and the second part, an opening to access the inner area and wherein the polymer coating extends over at least a portion of the inner area.  
   
   
       23 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the polymer coating is selected to be fire-resistant.  
   
   
       24 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  formed as a desk.  
   
   
       25 . The piece of furniture of  claim 24  wherein the first part defines a work surface and forms an underside positionable at a space from a floor and further comprising a panel positionable substantially vertically in the space adjacent the underside.  
   
   
       26 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the panel includes an anti-ballistic layer.  
   
   
       27 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  formed as a cabinet.  
   
   
       28 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  further comprising a panel including a layer of anti-ballistic material.  
   
   
       29 . The piece of furniture of  claim 1  wherein the first part forms at least one outer wall and the piece of furniture further comprises an inner space defined by the at least one outer wall, an opening through the at least one outer wall to access the inner space, an upper end, a lower end, an axis passing through the upper and the lower ends and a curved outer surface portion defining a surface curvature arc along a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis.  
   
   
       30 . A piece of furniture comprising a work surface including an upper surface and an underside and defining a plane, the work surface supportable at a work level forming a space at the underside of the work surface and a panel positionable in the space at the underside of the work surface, the panel including a curved outer surface and a wall selected to be resistant to passage therethrough of flying debris and a substructure to support the wall.  
   
   
       31 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the panel extends substantially vertically below the underside of the work surface.  
   
   
       32 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the curved outer surface is curved from side to side on the panel.  
   
   
       33 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the panel further comprises a fragmentation resistant substructure.  
   
   
       34 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the wall follows the curved outer surface.  
   
   
       35 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the panel further includes a cushioning layer.  
   
   
       36 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  selected to exhibit resistance against vertical crushing of its structure.  
   
   
       37 . The piece of furniture of  claim 36  wherein the panel substructure comprises a frame including at least some primary rods that act against vertical compression.  
   
   
       38 . The piece of furniture of  claim 36  wherein the panel substructure further comprises secondary rods extending diagonally between primary rods to form a triangulated frame construction.  
   
   
       39 . The piece of furniture of  claim 37  wherein the wall is supported on the outwardly curved side of panel and outwardly of the frame.  
   
   
       40 . The piece of furniture of  claim 37  wherein the frame is selected to be resistant to breaking under lateral loads  
   
   
       41 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  further comprising a reinforcement frame extending along the underside of the work surface to reinforce the work surface.  
   
   
       42 . The piece of furniture of  claim 41  wherein the panel substructure further comprises a panel frame including at least some primary rods that act against vertical compression and the primary rods are secured to the reinforcement frame.  
   
   
       43 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  further comprising a locator operable to emit a positional signal.  
   
   
       44 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the wall includes a flexible, sheet-form, anti-ballistic material.  
   
   
       45 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the wall includes a sheet metal anti-ballistic material.  
   
   
       46 . The piece of furniture of  claim 30  wherein the substructure includes a double wall tubular rod.  
   
   
       47 . A piece of furniture comprising a work surface including an upper surface and an item securing system including a retainer engaged to the work surface and accessible on the upper surface to releasably secure an office object to the upper surface of the work surface.  
   
   
       48 . The piece of furniture of  claim 47  wherein the work surface includes a frame support structure and the retainer is anchored to the frame substructure.  
   
   
       49 . The piece of furniture of  claim 47  comprising slots in the work surface through which the retainer extends from an anchored position at an underside of the work surface.  
   
   
       50 . The piece of furniture of  claim 47  wherein the retainer is formed as a strap.  
   
   
       51 . The piece of furniture of  claim 47  wherein the retainer is formed as a clamp.