Item of furniture, in particular for a child, and corresponding furniture assembly

Abstract

This piece of furniture (10) defines a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped enclosure whose height H, width L, and depth P are such that L = 2 / 3 H and P = 1 / 2 H. The piece of furniture has first, second, and third flat walls (11, 12, 13) that respectively close off the first and second parallel sides (10A, 10B) of the enclosure, which are opposite each other along the width, and a third side (10C) of the enclosure, which is parallel and opposite along the depth to a fourth side (10D) of the enclosure. The piece of furniture also has a fourth flat wall (14) parallel to the fifth and sixth parallel sides (10E, 10F) of the enclosure, which are opposite each other along the height. The fourth wall is set back from the fifth side by a distance D such that D=HL, extends from the first wall to the second wall along the width, and extends from the third wall to the fourth side along the depth. The fourth, fifth, and sixth sides are open.Children can manipulate several copies of the furniture like modules to join them and thus build different arrangements of a furniture set at their leisure, which stimulates their psychomotor development.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a piece of furniture, in particular for a child. It also relates to a set of furniture, in particular for a child, comprising several of these pieces of furniture.

[0002] When children reach the age of about three and have developed their first motor skills, making them completely independent for walking, they enjoy physical games, which allow them to exercise and develop their general motor skills, while needing complementary diversified activities for their good psychomotor development, such as manual, educational, artistic activities, etc. For this purpose, there are multiple specific devices intended for children, including play devices.

[0003] Furthermore, in the field of furniture, there is furniture intended for children, which, beyond its specific aesthetics, are generally only smaller-scale versions of common furniture for adults. Examples include children's chairs, children's beds, etc. Thus, children's furniture, which can be relatively expensive, is traditionally foreign to considerations relating to the psychomotor development of children.

[0004] In the field of everyday furniture, EP 2 625 968 discloses a piece of furniture comprising a back wall, a left side wall, a right side wall and an intermediate wall: the intermediate wall, which is preferably square, may be located at a level other than that corresponding to half the height of the piece of furniture, without further details. For its part, DE 20 2013 011496 also discloses a piece of furniture comprising a left side wall, a right side wall, a back wall and an intermediate wall: these four walls are square, so that the piece of furniture has a cubic shape, it being noted that the intermediate wall is preferably arranged halfway up the piece of furniture. Similarly, DD 96 395 also discloses a cubic piece of furniture whose height, width and depth are equal to each other.Furthermore, the various documents mentioned above are unrelated to any consideration relating to the psychomotor development and pedagogy of children.

[0005] The aim of the present invention is to propose a new piece of furniture which, while being simple, practical and economical, allows the stimulation of the psychomotor development of children.

[0006] To this end, the invention relates to a piece of furniture, in particular for children, as defined in claim 1.

[0007] The invention also relates to a furniture set, in particular for children, as defined in claim 4.

[0008] One of the ideas underlying the invention is to propose a piece of furniture which, at the same time, has a structure having a simple shape and specific relative proportions, and is designed as a piece of furniture to be assembled by joining one or more other identical pieces of furniture in order to have a furniture set which is modular according to multiple possible configurations. To do this, the piece of furniture according to the invention has an external geometry, that is to say an envelope, in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, the width and depth of which are respectively two-thirds and half of the height, and three of the sides of which are open, namely its two terminal sides separated by its height and one of its two front sides separated by its depth, while its other three sides, that is its other front side and its two lateral sides separated by its width, are closed by respective flat walls.In addition, the piece of furniture has a fourth flat wall, which extends perpendicularly to the other three flat walls and which is located, opposite one of the terminal sides of the latter, at a distance equal to the difference between the height and the width of the aforementioned envelope. By playing on the value of the height of the envelope, the piece of furniture can be declined in multiple possible sizes; in particular, by providing that the height of the envelope is approximately fifty centimeters, the piece of furniture is particularly suitable for children. In all cases, the structure of the piece of furniture is simple, robust and economical, since it is based on the fixed assembly of the four aforementioned flat walls.Individually, the piece of furniture according to the invention can in particular serve as a chair or a seat, its fourth wall forming a seat whose distance from the ground can be changed between the value of one third of the height of its envelope and the value of two thirds of this height, by reversing the orientation of the height relative to the ground. Two or more examples of this piece of furniture can be assembled by joining two by two according to various configurations to form the furniture set according to the invention.In particular, children can easily manipulate the furniture in this furniture set like modules to put them together and thus construct different arrangements of the furniture set as they wish, which stimulates their psychomotor development, through both the gestures they use to modify and adjust the positioning of the furniture between them and in relation to the floor, the physical and intellectual activities they carry out while playing with the furniture set in a given configuration, and the imagination they use to find new configurations, to define rules of play and to invent a world of entertainment.

[0009] Additional advantageous characteristics of the furniture and furniture assembly according to the invention are specified in the other claims.

[0010] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description, given solely by way of example and with reference to the drawings in which: [ Fig. 1 ] there figure 1 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture in accordance with the invention; [ Fig. 2 ] there figure 2 is a view similar to the figure 1 , illustrating the furniture in a different position than that illustrated in the figure 1 ; [ Fig. 3 ] there figure 3 is a perspective view of a connecting piece belonging to a furniture set in accordance with the invention; [ Fig. 4 ] there figure 4 is a perspective view of a furniture set in accordance with the invention, according to a first arrangement configuration; and [ Fig. 5 ], [ Fig. 6 ], [ Fig. 7 ] And [ Fig. 8 ] THE figures 5 , 6 , 7 And 8 are similar views to the figure 4 , respectively illustrating arrangement configurations which are different from each other.

[0011] On the figures 1 And 2 a piece of furniture 10 for children is shown.

[0012] As clearly visible on the figures 1 And 2 , the piece of furniture 10 defines an envelope, that is to say a geometric covering volume, which is a rectangular parallelepiped. By definition, the envelope of the piece of furniture 10 thus has three orthonormal dimensions, namely a height H, a width L and a depth P.

[0013] According to the invention, the height H, the width L and the depth P are linked by the following relationships: L = 2 3 H , And P = 1 2 H .

[0014] In practice, the two relationships above are verified to within a tolerance, which is typically 1% or even 5%.

[0015] Also by definition of a rectangular parallelepiped, the envelope of the piece of furniture 10 has six sides, namely: two lateral sides 10A and 10B which are opposite each other along the width of the envelope, two frontal sides 10C and 10D which are opposite each other along the depth of the envelope, and two terminal sides 10E and 10F which are opposite each other along the height of the envelope.

[0016] As clearly visible on the figures 1 And 2, the front side 10D and the end sides 10E and 10F of the casing of the furniture 10 are open. Through these sides 10D, 10E and 10F, the interior and exterior of the casing can therefore communicate freely with each other. The other three sides of the casing, i.e. the lateral sides 10A and 10B and the front side 10C, are closed by respective flat walls of the furniture 10, which thus materially separate the interior and exterior of the casing on its sides 10A, 10B and 10C. These three flat walls are referenced 11 for the wall which closes the lateral side 10A, 12 for the wall which closes the lateral side 10B, and 13 for the wall which closes the front side 10C.

[0017] In addition to the flat walls 11, 12 and 13, the piece of furniture 10 comprises a flat wall 14 which, as clearly visible in the figures 1 And 2, is parallel to the terminal sides 10E and 10F of the envelope and which is located between these terminal sides, being separated from the terminal side 10E by a distance D. This distance D is linked to the height H by the relation: D = H − L .

[0018] In practice, the above relationship is verified to within a tolerance, which is typically 1% or even 5%.

[0019] Thus, the flat wall 14 is perpendicular to the flat walls 11, 12 and 13. The flat wall 14 extends over the entire width and depth of the casing of the furniture 10. This amounts to saying that, depending on the width of the casing, the flat wall 14 extends from the flat wall 11 to the flat wall 12 and that, depending on the depth of the casing, the flat wall 14 extends from the flat wall 13 to the front side 10D of the casing. The flat wall 14 thus subdivides the internal volume of the furniture 10 into two sub-volumes, namely a sub-volume 10V, which is adjacent to the end side 10E of the casing of the furniture 10, and a sub-volume 10W which is adjacent to the end side 10F. It is understood that the sub-volume 10W is approximately twice as large as the sub-volume 10V. The 10V and 10W sub-volumes are completely separated from each other by the flat wall 14, without communication with each other inside the enclosure of the cabinet 10.

[0020] In the assembled state of the piece of furniture 10, the flat walls 11 to 14 are secured to each other, and this by any appropriate means, not limiting the invention. Similarly, the material(s) constituting the flat walls 11 to 14 are not limiting. In all cases, the flat walls 11 to 14 give the piece of furniture 10 great structural robustness, as well as great stability in the sense that they allow the piece of furniture 10 to rest stably on the ground on any of the six sides 10A to 10F of its envelope.

[0021] According to a preferential dimensioning, which contributes to the robustness and maneuverability of the piece of furniture 10, the flat walls 11 to 14 have substantially the same thickness E which is linked to the height H by the relation: 0 , 02 H ≤ E ≤ 0 , 06 H .

[0022] In the most general embodiments of the piece of furniture 10, the height H is not limited to a precise value, but, on the contrary, can be chosen from a wide range of values allowing the size of the piece of furniture 10 to be adapted accordingly. This being the case, preferably, the value of the height H is advantageously between 49 and 59 cm: this preferred range allows the size of the piece of furniture 10 to be specifically adapted to children, allowing them to easily use the piece of furniture 10 for their activities, in particular their play activities in the broad sense.

[0023] Considered in isolation, the piece of furniture 10 can be used as a chair, using the flat wall 14 as a seat and, if necessary, using the flat wall 13 as a backrest. To do this, the piece of furniture 10 is used by extending its height H vertically, as in the figures 1 And 2, the flat wall 14 then extending horizontally. Depending on the orientation of the piece of furniture 10 relative to the ground, the flat wall 14 can occupy two possible positions relative to the ground, namely a first positioning in which the flat wall 14 is distant from the ground with a value equal to two thirds of the height H, as in the figure 1 , and a second positioning in which the flat wall 14 is distant from the ground with a value equal to a third of the height H, as in the figure 2 . Thus, depending on whether the piece of furniture 10 is used as a chair for a large or small child, the orientation of the piece of furniture 10 relative to the floor can be changed between the two positions.

[0024] Furthermore, the piece of furniture 10 is designed to be united with, in other words assembled with, one or more other identical pieces of furniture to form a furniture set, as illustrated in the figures 4 à 8 relating to five different layout configurations for the furniture set. On the figures 4 à 8 , the other furniture or pieces, which are individually identical to the piece of furniture 10 and which are assembled with the latter, are respectively referenced 20, 30 and 40 and their sides and flat walls bear the same references as the sides 10A to 10F and flat walls 11 to 14 of the piece of furniture 10, being increased by ten. In each of the different arrangement configurations, the pieces of furniture 10 and 20, as well as, where appropriate, 30 and 40, are placed side by side with each other, in the sense that one of the sides of the envelope of each of the pieces of furniture is arranged parallel against one of the sides of the envelope of one of the other pieces of furniture. This assembly by placing the pieces of furniture 10 and 20, as well as, where appropriate, 30 and 40, makes it possible to move the furniture assembly between the different arrangement configurations of these pieces of furniture.

[0025] Regardless of the specifics of the layout configurations, such as the layout configurations illustrated in figures 4 à 8 which are detailed a little further down, the furniture set includes, optionally but preferably, connecting pieces 60 which are designed to hold two of the pieces of furniture of the furniture set together in a reversible manner. One of these connecting pieces is shown alone on the figure 3 .

[0026] In the embodiment considered in the figures, and as clearly visible in the figure 3 , each connecting piece 60 comprises two flat wings 61 which each have an elongated shape having a length J. The two flat wings 61 are arranged opposite one another, being parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another with a spacing K. The length J and the spacing K are linked to the aforementioned thickness E by the following relationships: J = 2 E , And K = E .

[0027] In addition, the two flat wings 61 are connected to each other by a spacer 62 of the connecting piece 60. This spacer 62 extends perpendicular to the flat wings 61 and is located substantially halfway between the ends of each flat wing, opposite each other along the length of the flat wing.

[0028] In service, that is to say when the connecting piece 60 is used to hold two of the pieces of furniture of the furniture set together in a reversible manner, the flat wings 61 thus make it possible to receive between them in a fitted manner, on one side of the spacer 62, a portion of the free edge of any one of the four flat walls of one of the pieces of furniture of the furniture set, and also to receive between them in a fitted manner, on the other side of the spacer 62, a portion of the free edge of any one of the four flat walls of another of the pieces of furniture of the furniture set. Each connecting piece 60 thus blocks, if necessary by wedging, the relative positioning of the two pieces of furniture held by the connecting piece.

[0029] In variants not shown, other embodiments than the embodiment which has just been described are conceivable for each of the connecting pieces 60 provided that they materially ensure a certain relative restraint between the pieces of furniture assembled by joining within the furniture assembly.

[0030] On the figure 4 , the furniture set, referenced 100, only comprises two pieces of furniture, namely pieces of furniture 10 and 20. These pieces of furniture 10 and 20 are assembled in such a way that: the end side 10F of the cabinet casing 10 is arranged parallel to the end side 20F of the cabinet casing 20, and the front side 10C of the cabinet casing 10 and the front side 20C of the cabinet casing 20 extend horizontally, facing the ground.

[0031] The arrangement configuration of the furniture 10 and 20, which results for the furniture set 100, means that the sub-volume 10W of the furniture 10 and the sub-volume 20W of the furniture 20 are put in communication with each other and jointly form a large volume which is closed on all its sides, except that facing upwards, as clearly visible on the figure 4 This large volume can be used as a temporary storage bin or as a place to store toys.

[0032] The assembly of the pieces of furniture 10 and 20 within the furniture set 100 is advantageously secured by the connecting pieces 60, one of which locks in position with each other the flat wall 11 of the piece of furniture 10 and the flat wall 22 of the piece of furniture 20, and another of which locks in position with each other the flat wall 12 of the piece of furniture 10 and the flat wall 21 of the piece of furniture 20, as clearly visible in the figure 4 .

[0033] On the figure 5 , the furniture set, referenced 200, only comprises two pieces of furniture, namely pieces of furniture 10 and 20. These pieces of furniture 10 and 20 are assembled in such a way that: the front side 10D of the furniture casing 10 is arranged parallel against the front side 20D of the furniture casing 20, and the end side 10F of the furniture casing 10 and the end side 20E of the furniture casing 20 each extend horizontally and are aligned with each other, facing the ground.

[0034] The assembly configuration of the pieces of furniture 10 and 20, which results for the furniture set 200, is similar to a school desk, combining a table and a chair. Within the furniture set 200, the piece of furniture 10 is used as a table whose work surface is formed by the flat wall 14, while the piece of furniture 20 is used as a chair whose seat is formed by the flat wall 24.

[0035] On the figure 6 , the furniture set, referenced 300, only comprises two pieces of furniture, namely pieces of furniture 10 and 20. These pieces of furniture 10 and 20 are assembled in such a way that: the front side 10D of the furniture casing 10 is arranged in parallel against the end side 20F of the furniture casing 20, the lateral side 10B of the furniture casing 10 and the front side 20D of the furniture casing 20 each extend vertically and are aligned with each other, and the end side 10F of the furniture casing 10 and the lateral side 20A of the furniture casing 20 each extend horizontally and are aligned with each other, facing the ground.

[0036] The arrangement configuration of the furniture 10 and 20, which results for the furniture set 300, means that access, for a child, to the sub-volume 10W of the furniture 10 requires passing through the sub-volume 20W of the furniture 20. It will be noted that the majority of the sub-volume 10W and the entirety of the sub-volume 20W are not directly visible on the figure 6 , given the observation angle of the latter, so that the references 10W and 20W are not reported on the figure 6 , but are deduced from the other figures where these references appear. It is understood that the sub-volume 10W of the piece of furniture 10 can be used, in the context of children's games, as a nook or a hiding place that is difficult to access, the furniture set 300 thus resembling a "mini-labyrinth".

[0037] On the figure 7 , the furniture set, which is referenced 400, comprises four pieces of furniture, namely pieces of furniture 10, 20, 30 and 40. These pieces of furniture 10, 20, 30 and 40 are assembled in such a way that: the end side 10E of the cabinet casing 10 is arranged parallel to the end side 20F of the cabinet casing 20, the end side 20E of the cabinet casing 20 is arranged parallel to the end side 30F of the cabinet casing 30, the end side 30E of the cabinet casing 30 is arranged parallel to the end side 40F of the cabinet casing 40, and the respective front sides 10C, 20C, 30C and 40C of the cabinet casings 10, 20, 30 and 40 are aligned with each other, extending horizontally and facing the ground.

[0038] The arrangement configuration of the furniture 10 to 40, which results for the furniture set 400, is similar to a caterpillar or a train, having three places following one another horizontally for, for example, three children, namely a first place consisting of the union of the sub-volumes 10V and 20W, a second place consisting of the union of the sub-volumes 20V and 30W, and a third place consisting of the union of the sub-volumes 30V and 40W.

[0039] The assembly of the furniture 10 to 40 within the furniture set 400 is advantageously secured by the connecting pieces 60, as clearly visible in the figure 7 .

[0040] On the figure 8 , the furniture set, which is referenced 500, is identical to the furniture set 400, with the only difference that the alignment of the respective front sides 10C, 20C, 30C and 40C of the envelopes of the furniture 10 to 40 does not extend horizontally, but extends vertically, for example by being placed against a wall. The arrangement configuration of the furniture 10 to 40, which results for the furniture set 500, is similar to a children's ladder, the crosspieces of which are respectively constituted by the flat walls 14, 24, 34 and 44 of the furniture 10 to 40.

[0041] The different layout configurations which are respectively illustrated in figures 4 à 8are only examples of the multiple arrangement configurations in which the furniture set comprising two or more examples of the furniture 10 can be placed. Through these different arrangement configurations, the furniture set takes advantage of the specific shape and proportions of the structure of the furniture 10, which stimulates the psychomotor development of children, in particular their general motor skills, their physical strength, their imagination, their concentration, etc.

Claims

1. An item of furniture (10), particularly for children, which item of furniture defines a rectangular parallelepiped enclosure which: - has a height H, a width L and a depth P such that L = 2 3 H and P = 1 2 H - has first and second parallel sides (10A, 20A), which are opposite each other along said width, - has third and fourth parallel sides (10C, 10C,) which are opposite each other along said depth, and - has fifth and sixth parallel sides (10E, 10F), which are opposite each other along said height, which item of furniture comprises: - first, second and third flat walls (11, 12, 13) which respectively close the first, second and third sides (10A, 10B, 10C) of the enclosure, and - a fourth flat wall (14) which: - is parallel to the fifth and sixth sides of the enclosure, at a distance D from the fifth side such that D = H - L, - along said width, extends from the first flat wall (11) to the second flat wall (12), and - along said depth, extends from the third flat wall (13) to the fourth side (10D) of the enclosure, and wherein the fourth, fifth and sixth sides (10D, 10E, 10F) of the enclosure are open.

2. The item of furniture according to claim 1, wherein the height H is between 49 and 59 cm.

3. The item of furniture according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the first, second, third and fourth flat walls (11, 12, 13, 14) have substantially the same thickness E, which is such that 0.02H ≤ E ≤ 0.06H.

4. A furniture set (100; 200; 300; 400; 500), in particular for children, comprising at least two items of furniture (10, 20, 30, 40) which comply with any one of the preceding claims and which are assembled, by being placed side by side, so that the furniture set can be moved between different configurations of furniture arrangement.

5. The furniture set according to claim 4, wherein the furniture set (100; 400; 500) further comprises connecting pieces (60) which are adapted to hold two of the items of furniture (10, 20, 30, 40) reversibly together.

6. The furniture set according to claim 5 taken in combination with claim 3, wherein each connecting piece (60) comprises two flat wings (61) which: - have an elongated shape with a length J such that J = 2E, - are arranged opposite each other, parallel to each other and spaced apart by a distance K such that K = E, and - are connected to each other by a spacer (62) of the connecting part, which spacer extends perpendicularly to the flat wings and is located substantially midway between the ends of each flat wing, opposite each other along the length of the flat wing.

7. The furniture set according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the furniture set (100) comprises only two items of furniture (10, 20) which are assembled in such a way that: - the sixth side (10F) of the enclosure of a first (10) of the two items of furniture is arranged parallel to the sixth side (20F) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture (20), and - the respective third sides (10C, 20C) of the enclosures of the first and second items of furniture extend horizontally, facing towards the ground.

8. The furniture set according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the furniture set (200) comprises only two items of furniture (10, 20) which are assembled in such a way that: - the fourth side (10D) of the enclosure of a first (10) of the two items of furniture is arranged parallel to the fourth side (20D) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture (20), and - the sixth side (10F) of the enclosure of the first item of furniture and the fifth side (20E) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture each extend horizontally and are aligned with each other, facing the ground.

9. The furniture set according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the furniture set (300) comprises only two items of furniture (10, 20) which are assembled in such a way that: - the fourth side (10D) of the enclosure of a first (10) of the two items of furniture is arranged parallel to the sixth side (20F) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture (20), - the second side (10B) of the enclosure of the first item of furniture and the fourth side (20D) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture each extend vertically and are aligned with each other, and - the sixth side (16F) of the enclosure of the first item of furniture and the first side (20A) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture each extend horizontally and are aligned with each other, facing the ground.

10. The furniture set according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the furniture set (400; 500) comprises at least three items of furniture (10, 20, 30, 40) which are assembled in such a way that: - the fifth side (10E) of the enclosure of a first (10) of the items of furniture is arranged parallel to the sixth side (20F) of the enclosure of a second (20) of the items of furniture, - the fifth side (20E) of the enclosure of the second item of furniture is arranged parallel to the sixth side (30F) of the enclosure of a third (30) of the items of furniture, and - the respective third sides (10C, 20C, 30C, 40C) of the furniture enclosures are aligned with each other, extending either horizontally, facing the floor, or vertically.

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