US3385642A - Desk construction - Google Patents

Description

y 8, 1968 D. SCHREYER 3,385,642

DESK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed 001:. 23, 1965 4 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR KENNETH 0. SCHREYE'R ATTY May 2-8, 1968 K. o. SCHREYER DESK CONSTRUCTION 7 Sheets-rSheet 3' Original Filed Oct. 23, 1965 May 28, 1968 K. 0. SCHRE YER DESK CONSTRUCTION '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Oct. 23, 1965 FIG. 7

y 8, 1968 K. D. SCHREYER 3,385,642

DESK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Oct. 23, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIJ FIGJZ I32 57/ I26 l25 1 I32A 12 A 125 y 23, 1968 K. o. SCHREYER 3,385,642

DESK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Oct. 23, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 10/ Fl G.|4 I05T 424 FlG.l6 422 I08 May 2-8, 1968 K. D. SCHREYER DESK CONSTRUCTION.

7 SheetS' -Sheet. 7

Original Filed Oct. 25, 1965 Fl G.I8

2 m 0 l I 4 5 6 w 4 4 w 5 w. 7 5 W. 7 4 WI IMHI m E lull Q 4 5 W l 8 l -w 8 I y 4 4 m w w FIG.|9

United States Patent ice 3,385,642 DESK CGNSTRUCTKON Kenneth D. dchreyer, Doylcstown, Pin, assignor to Lyon Metal Products, Incorporated, Aurora, ll! a corporation of Illinois riginal application Get. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 593,157. Divided and this application Apr. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 635,941

10 Claims. (65. 312-195) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE The present invention is directed to a desk including a top having a substantially fiat top plate, a mounting channel disposed on the underside of the top plate and spaced inwardly from the rear edge thereof and including a pair of downwardly extending side walls and a pair of inwardly directed flanges on the lower edges thereof and having the inner edges spaced apart, an edging extending along the rear edge of the top plate and including a dependent side flange that extends downwardly well below the mounting channel; and a back panel disposed below the top adjacent to the rear edge thereof and including a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel sheet metal side Walls connected by a pair of sheet metal end walls and a sheet metal bottom wall, a body of rigid cellular construction disposed between the side walls and substantially filling the space therebetween, layers of adhesive disposed between the inner surfaces of theside walls 0 The present application is a division of the co-pending application Ser. N0. 503,l57, filed Oct. 23, 1965 for Desk construction.

This invention relates to furniture constructions, and particularly to desks, and to improvements in desk components and the interconnection thereof one with the other.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved back panel for use in furniture construction such as a desk or the like, and specifically for use with the improved furniture top of the present invention, the back panel being of composite construction including a pair of outer metal side walls and a honeycomb construction disposed therebetween and secured thereto by mastic, and a pair of hangers extending upwardly therefrom for engagement with mounting channels on an associated furniture top.

Further features of the invention pertain to the particular arrangement of the parts whereby the above-outlined and additional features thereof are attained.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of construction, together with oher objects and advantages, will best be understood by reference to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a single pedestal desk made in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention;

Patented May 23, 1968 FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the desk of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the desk of FIGS. 1 and 2;

i6. 4- is an end elevational view of the desk illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is a view of the underside of the top of the desk of FIG. 3 substantially as seen in the direction of the arrows along the line 5-5 thereof, certain portions being broken away and the trim and covering thereon removed;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section through the desk top of FIG. 5 along the lines 6-6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section through the desk top of FIG. 5 along the line 7-7 thereof;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view with certain portions broken away of a corner of the desk top of FIGS. 1 to 4, a portion of the trim being shown in dashed lines in the position thereof immediately prior to installation thereof;

FIG. 9 is a further enlarged view in vertical section similar to FIG. 6 and illustrating specifically the interconnection between the desk top and the pedestal front frame;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section with certain portions broken away along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a still further enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section of the portion of the desk top within thecircle 11 in FIG. 9;

P16. 12 is a still further enlarged view in vertical section along the line 1212 of FIG. 8 and illustrating the mounting of the trim on the edge of the desk top;

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 and showing a modification of the trim construction;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary View with certain portions broken away illustrating the construction of the back panel and the connection thereof to the desk top and the adjacent desk pedestal;

FIG. 15 is a view in vertical section along the line 1515 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the connection between the back panel and the desk p;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view with certain portions broken away illustrating the construction of the end panel and the connection thereof to the desk top and to the back panel;

FIG. 18 is a view in vertical section along the line 1318 in FIG. 17; and

FIGS. 19 and 20 are enlarged views of that portion of FIG. 18 within the circle designated it and illustrating the internal construction of the end panel.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4 thereof, there is illustrated a piece of furniture made in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention, a lefthand singleped etal desk 109 having been shown for purposes of illustration. The desk includes adesk top 101 at one end of which is disposed a pedestal supported by a pair of legs 50% having associatedfeet 520, thepedestal 150 having mounted therein ashelf 190, abox drawer 210 and a fi'e drawer 271 the shelf being provided with a pull IdtlP, thebox drawer 210 being provided with a pull 21d? and thefile drawer 270 being provided with a pull 2701 Mounted on the other end of the desk top fill is anend panel 450 supported by a pair of legs 55% having associatedfeet 570, the space between thepedestal 159 and theend panel 450 at the rear of thedesk top 101 being closed by aback panel 400; as maybe best seen in FIG. 3, theback panel 400 is provided with a pair ofwiring openings 415 for the reception of telephone wires and the like. There further is mounted on the desk top 101 acenter drawer 380 and a depending front wall orskirt 390, alock 360 being provided in substantially the center of the front edge of thedesk top 101 to lock theseveral drawers 210, 270 and 380.

Referring now to FIGS. to 13 of the drawings, additional details of construction of thedesk top 101 will be described. As is best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, thedesk top 101 includes a generallyflat top plate 102 that is generally rectangular in shape, the corners thereof being rounded, the periphery of thetop plate 102 being essentially the same as the periphery of thedeck top 101. Disposed beneath thetop plate 102 and extending around the periphery thereof is an edging 103 also formed of sheet metal, a substantially flat piece of sheet metal having been deformed to provide anattachment flange 104, aside flange 105, amounting flange 106, abottom flange 107 and anupturned flange 108. More specifically, theattachment flange 104 is disposed against the underside of thetop plate 102 but is spaced inwardly with respect to the outer edge thereof, the outer edge of theattachment flange 104 carrying thereon themounting flange 106 which is offset downwardly away from the underside of thetop plate 102 and extends outwardly slightly beyond the outer edge thereof. As illustrated, theside flange 105 is integral with themounting flange 106 and depends therefrom and extends slightly inwardly toward the center of thetop plate 102, theflange 105 making an angle of for example 75 with respect to themounting flange 106. Thebottom flange 107 is disposed on the lower edge of theside flange 105 and extends inwardly substantially parallel to theflanges 104 and 106 and carries on the inner end thereof theupturned flange 108 that extends upwardly toward thetop plate 102 and is disposed substantially normal thereto and to thebottom flange 107.

Preferably the edging 103 is formed of two pieces secured to the toplate 102 by welding at theattachment flange 104 and the abutting edges of theedging 103 located substantially at the midpoints of the shorter top sides are also welded to form seams therebetween. By reference to FIG. 5 it will be seen that theattachment flange 104 is cut out as at 109 at the corners of thetable top 101 to permit bending of the remaining portions thereof without providing overlapping of theattachment flanges 104.

Also disposed on the underside of thetop plate 102 is a reinforcingsheet 110 formed from a substantially flat piece of sheet metal bent to provide attachment portions 111,ribs 112 havingside Walls 113, and connectingportions 114 at the periphery thereof. The attachment portions 111 are disposed toward the underside of thetop plate 102, there being a body ofmastic 115 applied therebetween (see FIG. 11), the preferred mastic being a heat curing mastic sold under the trademark Presstite No. 719. The attachment portions 111 are further connected to thetop plate 102 by welding as at 116, the heat from the welding operation curing the mastic whereby both themastic 115 and theweld 116 serve to interconnect the attachment portions 111 and thetop plate 102 to provide a firm connection therebetween, the mastic also serving to deaden sound transmission therebetween. Theside walls 113 depend downwardly from the attachment portion 111 to form theribs 112 which are spaced from the underside of thetop plate 102. The connectingportions 114 are offset from the underside of thetop plate 102 to accommodate therebetween portions such as theattachment flange 104 on theedging 103, the three layers mentioned being connected as by welding at 116.

Also mounted beneath the top 101 are two longitudinally extending and substantially parallel and spaced apart mountingchannels 120, each mountingchannel 120 including a longitudinally extendingmain wall 121 and a pair of dependingside flanges 122 carrying on the lower ends thereof respectivelyinturned holding flanges 123. As will be explained in detail hereinafter, all of the other parts of the desk are mounted upon thedesk top 101 by means of the mountingchannels 120.

Disposed on the upper surface of thetop plate 102 is a covering 125, preferably formed of a synthetic organic resin, the preferred materials being those sold under the trademarks Textolite, Micarta and Formica. An adhesive is applied both to the upper surface of thetop plate 102 and to the lower surface of the covering 125 to provide a good bond therebetween, the preferred adhesive being a synthetic rubber resin adhesive of the contact type such as that sold under the trademark D-SOO by the Armstrong Cork Co., the two parts being oven heated to about 200 F. to drive off the volatile ingredients in the adhesive. The outer edge of the covering 125 extends slightly beyond the outer edge of the top plate 102 (see FIGS. 9 and 12). The upper outer corner being slightly beveled as at 126.

To complete thedesk top 101, a decorative trim is provided therearound (see FIGS. 8, 9 and 12 particularly). In a first preferred form of the trim 130, it comprises a length of extruded aluminum metal including adecorative body 131 having a rounded or curvedouter surface 132 extending from adjacent to the upper surface of the covering 125 and downwardly below the upper edge of the edging 103 and terminating in thebottom edge 133. Integral with thebody 131 is aneck 134 from which extends anintegral mounting tongue 135, the tongue being concavely curved as viewed in FIG. 12 and having aninner end 136 disposed against the undersurface of thetop plate 102. As constructed, theneck 134 and the mountingtongue 135 both lend resiliency to the trim at the respective points indicated and, as is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 8, thetrim 130 is installed upon thedesk top 101 by progressively urging the mountingtongue 135 into the space defined between the outer edge of thetop plate 102 and the mountingflange 106 on the edging 103. Preferably before installation the mountingtongue 135 has a curvature such that the thickness thereof as viewed in FIG. 12 is greater than the space between thetop plate 102 and theflange 106, whereby the mountingtongue 135 must be resiliently deformed upon insertion into that space, whereby theneck 134 and theinner end 136 are pressed against the underside of thetop plate 102 while the lower surface of the mountingtongue 135 presses against the upper surface of the mountingflange 106. Theresilient neck 134 also accommodates a small amount of movement between thetrim body 131 and the mountingtongue 135, thereby to accommodate slight variations in the abutment between thebody 131 and the covering 125, preferably thebody 131 having an inwardly directedsharp edge 137 that bears into the covering 125 slightly below the upper surface thereof at thebevel 126.

There is illustrated in FIG. 13 of the drawings a modification of the trim, it being noted that the covering 125 also has anotch 126A at the periphery thereof in lieu of thebevel 126 described above with respect to FIG. 12. The trim 130A illustrated in FIG. 13 is preferably formed of sheet metal, the preferred material being stainless steel, which is bent to provide anouter wall 131A, atop flange 132A, abottom flange 133A, acurved portion 134A, a mountingtongue 135A and aninner end 136A. As illustrated, theouter wall 131A is disposed essentially vertically and carries on the upper edge thereof thetop flange 132A that extends inwardly and slightly upwardly from theouter wall 131A and abuts against the edge of the covering 125 at thenotch 126A. The lower edge of theouter wall 131A extends downwardly at least to the top of the edging 103 and carries on the lower end thereof thebottom flange 133A that extends inwardly toward the space formed between thetop plate 102 and the mountingflange 106. Thecurved portion 134A extends upwardly from thebottom flange 133 to bear against the undersurface of thetop plate 102 and the mountingtongue 135A extends downwardly therefrom and presses against the upper surface of the mountingflange 106, and theinner end 136A is integral therewith and extends upwardly to contact the underside of thetop plate 102. Prior to the mounting of the trim 130A and in the normal condition thereof, thecurved portion 134A and the mountingtongue 135A and theinner end 136A combine to provide a thickness or vertical extent greater than the distance between thetop plate 102 and theflange 106, whereby in the driving of the mountingtongue 135A thereinto, thetongue 135A is resiliently deformed with thecurved portion 134A and theinner end 136A being resiliently pressed against the underside of thetop plate 102 and the mountingtongue 135A being resiliently urged against the upper surface of theflange 106, thereby resiliently to hold the trim 130A in the mounted position around the periphery of thedesk top 101.

As has been mentioned heretofore, all of the other structures combining to formdesk 100 are secured to thedesk top 131 through the mountingchannels 120 on the underside thereof. There is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and of the drawings the details of animproved nut 140 particularly useful for engagement with bolts, it being understood that thenut 140 is not generally accessible to the workmen during assembly with the associated desk bolts. As is best seen in FIG. 10, thenut 140 has the outline of a rhombus having parallellonger sides 141 and parallelshorter sides 142 connected by roundedacute corners 143 and roundedobtuse corners 144. As illustrated, the distance between thesides 141 is slightly less than the distance between the inner edges of theflanges 123, whereby thenut 140 can be inserted therebetween at any point therealong, and thecorners 143 are adapted to engage theside flanges 122 of the mountingchannels 120 to limit the rotation of thenut 140 with respect thereto. The underside of thenut 140 also has the outer ends cut away as at 145 to provideedges 146 spaced apart a distance slightly less than the distance between the inner edges of the holdingflanges 123, whereby theedges 146 depend downwardly along the adjacent inner edge of the associated holdingflange 123 also to provide abutment therewith when necessary. Disposed essentially centrally of the nut is a threadedopening 147 threadedly to receive therethrough a threaded shank such as theshank 148 of thebolt 149 as illustrated.

Referring to FIGS. 14 to 20 of the drawings, there are illustrated the details of construction and mounting of theback panel 400, the back panel 4th) being disposed toward the rear of thedesk top 101 and disposed immediately below therear mounting channel 120 thereon and extending between thepedestal 150 and theend panel 450. As may be best seen in FIG. 15, theback panel 400 includes a pair of substantiallyrectangular side walls 401 formed of sheet metal and disposed substantially parallel to each other, the ends of theside walls 401 being enclosed byend walls 402 and the bottom edges of theside walls 401 being provided withbottom flanges 403 that overlap and are suitably secured together as by welding. Theinner side wall 401, i.e., the side wall disposed to the left in FIG. 15, has a rearwardly directedupper flange 404 integral with the upper edge thereof and extending rearwardly toward theouter side wall 401 and terminating adjacent thereto (see FIG. 16 also). Theouter side wall 401, i.e., theside wall 401 disposed to the right in FIG. 15, extends upwardly beyond theupper flange 404 and has integral with the upper edge thereof a forwardly directedtop flange 405 that overlies and is spaced from theupper flange 404 and in the mounted position is disposed substantially in alignment with thebottom flange 107 on thedesk top 101. Disposed between theside walls 401 and theend walls 402 is afiller 410 of cellular construction and formed of a paper product including a pair of outer layers adhesively secured to an inner body of honeycomb construction, thefiller 410 being secured by bodies ofmastic 411 disposed between the outer surfaces thereof and the inner surfaces of theside walls 401, thereby fixedly to mount the filler410 in theback panel 400.

By reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 it will be seen that thefiller 410 extends from a point spaced slightly above thebottom flanges 403 upwardly to theupper flange 404.

Theback panel 400, as are all of the other parts of thedesk 100, is mounted upon thedesk top 101 and particularly upon the rear mounting channel thereof. To this end a pair ofhangers 420 is provided, each of thehangers 420 being mounted on the upper portion of theback panel 400 and spaced a short distance inwardly from theend walls 402 thereof. Eachhanger 420 further is in the form of a substantially elongated and vertically arranged body extending into anopening 412 in thetiller 410 and upwardly therefrom through alignedslots 406 and 407 in theflanges 404 and 405, respectively, the upper end of thehanger 420 being disposed well above thetop flange 405. Integral with thehanger 420 is anattachment flange 421 disposed substantially parallel to theforward side wall 401 and suitably secured thereto as by welding. The upper end of thehanger 420 has acutout 422 therein that serves to define a hook-like portion 423 at the upper end thereof having asupport edge 424 on the underside thereof adapted to engage the upper surface of one of theinturned holding flanges 123 on the associated mountingchannel 120. The upper edge of the hook-like portion 423 curves downwardly and forwardly (to the left as viewed in FIGS. 15 and 16) and terminates in a forwardly directedabutment shoulder 425, theabutment shoulder 425 being disposed below the other or forward inturned holdingflange 123 on the associated mountingchannel 120 and serving to limit movement of the lower end of theback panel 400 in a forward direction. In this manner, the twohangers 420 serve to support the weight of theback panel 400 upon therear mounting channel 120 and thus upon thedesk top 101. Referring to FIG. 3, it will further be seen that theback panel 400 has a pair ofwiring openings 415, in the upper edge thereof for receiving telephone wires and the like therethrough.

In order to secure the lower lefthand corner of the back panel 40% to the adjacent rear portion of thepedestal 150, aclip 430 has been provided. Theclip 430 is generally a rectangular strip of metal bent and shaped to provide apedestal attachment flange 431 which lies against the underside of thepedestal bottom wall 167 and is secured thereto as by ascrew 435. Integral with the righthand end of theflange 431 as viewed in FIG. 14 is an upwardlycurved portion 432 following the curvature of the pedestal and terminating in a backpanel attachment flange 433 disposed substantially parallel to theflange 433, theflange 433 passing through an opening in thebottom flanges 403 of theback panel 400 and resting upon the upper surface of the lowermostbottom flange 403 and secured thereto as by ascrew 435. The righthand end of theflange 433 carries thereon an offsetflange 434 offset downwardly and disposed substantially parallel to theflanges 431 and 433, theflange 434 extending through a second opening inbottom flanges 403 and lying underneath the lower surface of the lowermostbottom flange 403. In this manner, the lower lefthand corner of theback panel 400 is securely fastened to the rear righthand portion of thepedestal 150.

Disposed at the righthand end of thedesk 100 is theend panel 450, the construction and connection thereof being best illustrated in FIGS. 17 to 20 of the drawings. Theend panel 450 more specifically is disposed adjacent to the righthand edge of thedesk top 101 and extends from a point substantially at the lower edge of thefront edging 103 rearwardly to a point immediately below the lower edge of the back edging 103 and actually beyond the rear surface of the back panel 400 (see FIGS. 1 to 4 also). As may be best seen in FIG. 18, theend panel 450 includes a pair of substantiallyrectangular side walls 451 formed of sheet metal and disposed substantially parallel to each other, the ends of theside walls 451 being enclosed byend walls 452 and the bottom edges of the side walls 4-51 being provided with bottom flanges 4S3 that overlap and are suitably secured together as by welding. Theinner side Wall 451, i.e., the side wall dis posed to the left in FIG. 18, has a rearwardly directedupper flange 454 integral with the upper edge thereof and extending inwardly toward thepedestal 150. Theouter side wall 451, i.e., theside wall 451 disposed to the right in FIG. 18, extends upwardly slightly beyond theupper flange 454 and has integral with the upper edge thereof an inwardly directedtop flange 455 that overlies and bears against theupper flange 454 and is suitably secured thereto as by welding, the longitudinal extent of theflanges 454 and 455 being less than the longitudinal extent of theend panel 450, theflanges 454 and 455 terminating at the inner surfaces of the desktop mounting channels 120 as may be best seen in FIG. 17. Disposed between theside walls 451 and theend walls 452 is afiller 460 of cellular construction and formed of a paper product including a pair of outer layers 462 (see FIG. 19) and adhesively secured to aninner body 463 of honeycomb construction and more specifically formed by suitably bent strips of paper having adjacent surfaces glued together as is best illustrated in FIG. 20. Thefiller 460 is further secured by bodies ofmastie 461 to the inner surfaces of the endpanel side walls 451 throughout substantially the entire adjacent area thereof, whereby to form a strong yet lightweight structure that has good sound deadening properties. Themastic 461 is preferably a heavy bodied, short, water dispersed asphalt adhesive such as that sold under the trademark W-870 by Armstrong Cork Co. or EC-321 by Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co. Mounted in each end of theend panel 450 is a generally vertically arrangedchannel 470 having the lower end thereof spaced upwardly from the lower end of theend panel 450 and extending upwardly beyond the upper end of theend panel 450 as is best seen in FIG. 17, thechannel 470 including amain wall 471 and a pair ofside flanges 472 integral therewith and disposed parallel to each other, whereby to provide a channel that is essentially U-shaped in cross section. Theside flanges 472 are suitably secured as by welding to the inner surfaces of theside walls 451, it being seen from FIG. 18 that thechannel 470 extends completely between theside walls 451. There further is disposed within the lower portion of theend panel 450 and adjacent to the lower end of each of the channels 470 aleg support 473 including abottom wall 474 from which extend upwardly a pair ofparallel side walls 475, the upper edges of theside walls 475 sloping downwardly from the associatedchannel 470 as may be best seen in FIG. 17. Theside walls 475 are disposed within theside flanges 472 of theadjacent channel 470 and are suitably secured thereto as by welding. There further are provided in thebottom wall 474 two openings and in alignment with each of the openings is an internally threaded nut, two weldednuts 476 and 477 having been provided as illustrated for the mounting of the associatedleg 550 thereon as will be described more fully hereinafter. At the upper end of each of thechannels 470 there is provided ananchor clip 480 formed of a single sheet of metal shaped to provide the several parts thereof including anattachment flange 481 resting upon the upper surface of thetop flange 455 and suitably secured thereto as by welding. Extending upwardly from theattachment 480 is anupstanding flange 482 that carries on the upper edge thereof an outwardly directed mounting flange 483, both theupstanding flange 482 and the mounting flange 483 havingwings 484 extending laterally therefrom and provided in the mounting flange 483 with fastener receiving openings therein to receivebolts 485 for engagement withnuts 140 in the associated mountingchannel 120. Further, the mounting flange 483 has on the outer edge thereof adownturned flange 486 that is suitably secured as by welding to themain wall 471 of the associatedupstanding channel 470, whereby theanchor p 430 is fi cd y secured both to the channel 479 and theside walls 451,

There further is provided between the lower rear corner of the end panel 451) and the adjacent lower corner of the bottom panel 408 aclip 490 interconnecting the two panels, theclip 490 being formed of a strip of metal bent to provide a backpanel attachment flange 491 having integral therewith a curved portion 492 terminating in an endpanel attachment flange 493. The backpanel attachment flange 491 extends into an opening in the lower wall of theback panel 400 and is secured thereto by means of a screw 494. The endpanel attachment flange 493 likewise has an opening therein that receives therethrough a screw (to be described later) that connects theflange 493 to theback flanges 453.

Theend panel 450 is supported by twoend panel legs 550, one of the legs 551 being disposed toward the forward end of the end panel 459 and theother leg 550 being disposed toward the rear end of theend panel 450, both of the legs being centered laterally under theend panel 450. In order to attach each of thelegs 550 to the underside of theend wall 450, twobolts 562 and 565 have been provided as illustrated in the drawings.

Fundamentally the desk is formed of sheet metal with the exception of the several parts mentioned during the above description. Furthermore, the sheet metal forming the various parts is of relatively light gauge, as will be appreciated from the following examples of the gauge of the sheet metal utilized to form various parts of thedesk 100. For example, in a typical illustrative embodiment of thedesk top 101, thetop plate 102 is formed of 20 gauge steel, the edging 103 is formed of 18 gauge steel, reinforcing sheet is formed of 24 gauge steel and the mounting channel is formed of 18 gauge steel. In a typical construction of theback panel 400, theouter side wall 401 is formed of 24 gauge steel, theinner side wall 401 is formed of 26 gauge steel and thehangers 420 are formed of 14 gauge steel. Similarly, in a typical construction of theend panel 450, both of theside walls 451 are formed of 24 gauge steel, thechannel 470 is formed of 16 gauge steel, the anchor clips 480 are formed of 14 gauge steel and theleg support 473 is formed of 12 gauge steel.

From the above description it will be seen that there has been provided an improved article of furniture, and specifically an improved desk construction, which fulfills all of the objects and advantages set forth above.

There further has been provided an improved back panel of composite construction including a pair of outer metal side walls and a honeycomb construction disposed therebetween and secured thereto by mastic; provided on the back panel is a pair of hangers for mounting the back panel on the mounting channels of the improved furniture top.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A desk top and back panel construction comprising a top including a substantially flat top plate, a mounting channel disposed adjacent to the underside of said top plate and spaced inwardly from the rear edge thereof and secured thereto, said mounting channel including a pair of downwardly extending side walls and a pair of inwardly directed retaining flanges on the lower edges thereof and having the inner edges spaced apart, an edging extending along the rear edge of said top plate and including :a dependent side flange that extends downwardly well below said mounting channel, a back panel disposed below said top adjacent to the rear edge thereof, and a pair of hangers respectively attached to said back panel at spaced apart points thereon and extending upwardly therefrom, each of said hangers having a hook portion extending upwardly through the space between the adjacent edges of said retaining flanges and overlying one of said retaining flanges to mount said back panel upon said mounting channel.

2. The desk top and back panel construction set forth inclaim 1, wherein said back panel is disposed directly below said mounting channel and extends upwardly at least to the lower edge of said edging, thereby to conceal the connection between said desk top and said back panel.

3. The desk top and back panel construction set forth inclaim 1, wherein each of said hangers further includes an abutment shoulder disposed on the side thereof opposite the direction in which said hook portion extends, said abutment shoulder engaging the lower surface of the other of said retaining flanges to assist in positioning said back panel with respect to said desk top.

4. A desk back panel comprising a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel sheet metal side walls, a pair of sheet metal end walls interconnecting said side walls at the opposite ends thereof and a sheet metal bottom Wall interconnecting said side walls at the lower edges thereof, a body of rigid cellular construction disposed between said side walls and extending between said end walls and substantially filling the space therebetween, layers of adhesive disposed between the inner surfaces of said side walls and the adjacent surface of said body of cellular construction for securing said side walls to said body of cellular construction throughout the adjacent surfaces thereof, and a pair of hangers respectively attached to said back panel at spaced apart points thereon and extending upwardly therefrom, each of said hangers having a hook portion at the upper end thereof for engagement on a retaining flange.

5. The desk top and back panel construction set forth in claim 4, wherein the upper edge of said back panel has a wiring opening therethrough immediately below said top.

6. The desk back panel set forth in claim 4, wherein the one of said side walls to be disposed outwardly in use extending well above the other to cover the major portion of said hangers.

7. The desk back panel set forth in claim 4, wherein the one of said side walls to be disposed outwardly in use extending well above the other and having a flange on the upper edge thereof extending in a direction toward said other side wall.

8. The desk back panel set forth in claim 4, wherein the one of said side walls to be disposed outwardly in use extends well above the upper edge of the other one of said side walls and carries on the upper edge thereof a first flange extending toward the other one of said side walls, and the upper edge of the other one of said side walls having a second flange thereon extending toward said one side wall and overlying the upper portion of said body of rigid cellular construction.

9. The desk back panel set forth in claim 4, wherein each of the hangers further has an abutment shoulder disposed on the side thereof opposite the direction in which said hook portions extend, said abutment shoulders in use assisting in positioning the back panel with respect to the other structures.

10. The desk back panel set forth in claim 4, wherein a pair of wiring openings is provided along the upper edge thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,906,574 9/1959 Bullock 312-194 X 3,125,387 3/1964 Abrahamson 312-195 3,177,046 4/1965 Ericson et a1 312-195 3,194,188 7/1965 Hamilton et al. 312-194 X 3,222,113 12/1965 Hamilton et a1 312-194 JAMES MCCALL, Primary Examiner.

Images