Wiring and Accessory Management Furniture

Abstract

A dual use article of furniture with horizontally supported planar surfaces that separate, slide, and pivot to provide adjustable passage for electrical wiring communication, concealment, and management, and to provide access to electrical and electronic components, and accessories internally stored and supported beneath the planar surface and concealed by a relatively movable assembly that is connected to, supported by, and integral with the article of furniture structure.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates to articles of furniture with horizontally supported planar surfaces that separate, slide, and pivot to provide adjustable passage for electrical wiring communication, its concealment, and its management, and to provide access for electrical and electronic components, and for accessories internally supported beneath the planar surface and concealed by a relatively movable assembly that is connected to, supported by, and integral with the article of furniture structure. More particularly this invention relates to dual use articles of furniture whose principal function is readily converted to an article of furniture with the top surface available for manual tasks. [0003] Embodiments of wiring and accessory management furniture are represented by credenzas, computer workstations, audio equipment cabinets, communication kiosks, and point-of-sale equipment cabinets. [0004] 2. Description of the Related...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The present disclosure relates to an article of furniture comprising a top surface comprising; a top piece adjacent to and in non-permanent contact with, at least one top extension with an inward edge and an outward edge, at least one top extension pivotally disposed for bi-directional rotation, and at least one top extension further adjustably disposed for bi-directional slidable movement orthogonal to the axis of pivot, wherein the top surface is adjacent to and supported by, at least two members, at least one structural element disposed below the top surface to provide for structural rigidity and support, whereby at least one pivotally disposed and bi-directional adjustably and slidably disposed top extension is selected for gap creation between the top piece and at least one top extension for electrical cord and accessory cable passage and accommodation and further for access beneath the top surface.

[0019] At least one pivotally disposed and bi-directional adjustably and slideably disposed top extension is selected for gap creation between the top piece and at least one top extension for electrical cord passage and accommodation and for access beneath the top surface. The flexibility of the top surface design allows top extension adjustable and slideable bi-directional movement for the variable creation of at least one gap the extent of top surface length or at least one gap the extent of the top surface width depending on the degree of cord management desired. This flexibility provides for variable gap location and positioning that can easily be eliminated when cord management is not required. Although the provision of both motions may be combined in a single mechanism, the bi-directional adjustable and slideable movement is completely independent of the pivoting movement. At least one pivotally disposed top extension enables bi-directional rotation to enable flexibility for variable gap location and positioning, providing for access beneath the top surface where desired.

[0020] The present disclosure relates to an article of furniture wherein at least one structural element comprises a shelf disposed below top surface, at least one structural element shelf adjacent to and in contact with at least one member, at least one structural element shelf providing for accessory accommodation and structural rigidity and support. For the purpose of the present disclosure a shelf is a generally horizontal surface that is substantially longer that it is wide, and is supported either at the ends or underneath by the basic structural members of the desk. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that a shelf may add structural stability to the desk either as a beam, or in diaphragm action, or by rigid connection to intermediate structural components that reinforce the members.

[0027] The front edges of desks are often used instead of chairs. Thus any desk with a pivoting edges should also incorporate means to prevent unwanted release of structural support. Thus the pivoting mechanism includes means to provide a limit of downward rotational movement. An example of means for support is a dead bolt such as shown in FIG. 11 in the locked position and in FIG. 12 in the open and unlocked position. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that various other mechanisms are equally useful in preventing unwanted rotation of the top extension as well as limiting the degree to which that rotation takes place on the downward swing. An example of such a swing limited means would be a short chain.

[0029] The present disclosure relates to an article of furniture comprising: a top surface comprising; a top piece with an inward edge and an outward edge, the top piece adjustably disposed for bi-directional slideable movement and adjacent to and in non-permanent contact with, at least one top extension pivotally disposed for bi-directional rotation, further the top piece disposed for bi-directional slideable movement rthogonal to the axis of pivot, wherein the top surface is adjacent to and supported by, at least two members, at least one structural element disposed below the top surface to provide for structural rigidity and support, whereby the bi-directional adjustably and slidably disposed top piece is selected for gap creation between the top piece and at least one top extension for electrical wire, cord, and accessory cable passage and accommodation, whereby at least one pivotally disposed top extension is selected for access beneath the top surface.

Problems solved by technology

Additionally, the equipment and accessories themselves require organization, provision of space, and concealment.

Thus the prior art of furniture and cabinetry lacks the ease and scale of the combination of wiring passage with internal access to secondary equipment storage.

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