Furniture

Abstract

To provide laterally-long furniture dispensing with a large top plate for covering an upper surface and a large bottom plate forming a lower surface to which legs are attached.SOLUTION: Furniture is characterized in that each storage part consists of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and right and left side plates: out of the side plates of each storage part, a side plate located adjacent to another storage part is shared with the other adjacent storage part; the top plate of each storage part is formed separately from top plates of the other storage parts and is so connected and fixed as to align the height position thereof to the other(s) and to bring the side end face(s) thereof into contact with side face(s) of the side plate(s) shared with the other adjacent storage part(s); the bottom plate of each storage part is formed separately from bottom plates of the other storage parts, and is so connected and fixed as to bring the side end face(s) thereof into contact with side face(s) of the shared side plate(s); and an upper part of the shared side plates protrudes upward from between the top plates, and an upper end face forms a minute step part with a belt shape in a plan view on the upper surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to furniture such as an article placement table. [Background technology]

[0002] At home, low-board type TV stands (item placement stands) are often used to watch large TVs while sitting on the sofa, and box-shaped stands with multiple storage compartments for storing electronic devices such as HDD recorders connected to the TV and TV accessories are particularly popular. Since a sense of visual stability when the TV is placed on it is important, long TV stands that are wider than the TV itself are preferred (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Currently, the most popular TVs have a screen size of 50 inches or more and a body size of over 1 meter, and accordingly the mainstream size of TV stands is about 1.5 to 1.8 meters wide.

[0003] In such a TV stand, it is natural that the TV should be placed stably, and in order to make the top surface (item placement surface) on which the TV is placed flat without any steps, the top surface is generally made of a large one-piece top plate. Also, in order to make the appearance stylish and to make it easier to clean the area below the TV stand, legs are often provided to support the box-shaped main body so that it is raised above the floor (see, for example, Patent Document 2, Figure 1). In order to provide legs, the main body that is suspended in the air naturally needs to have a certain strength, so the bottom surface of the main body is generally made of a large one-piece bottom plate or a long horizontal member that runs along its entire length. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3225189 [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-394 A DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The above-mentioned TV stand is sold as a finished product manufactured in a factory, and also as a prefabricated furniture set with its components and assembly instructions packed in a cardboard box. Since prefabricated furniture is assembled by the consumer at home, the cost of assembly in the factory is eliminated, which has the advantage of making the selling price cheaper. Furthermore, prefabricated furniture sets are not only compressed to a smaller package volume than finished products, but are also often packed in multiple cardboard boxes, so consumers can load them into their cars when they arrive at the store and take them home. This has the advantage that consumers do not need to pay a delivery company to deliver the product to their home, and can start assembling the product immediately after returning home. Even if a delivery company is requested to deliver the product to their home, the package size is small, so the cost is expected to be lower.

[0006] When a horizontally long TV stand on which a large TV is placed is sold as a set of assembled furniture, the volume of the package is naturally compressed to be smaller than that of the finished product. However, as mentioned above, if the components include a large top plate that covers the top surface of the main body, a large bottom plate to reinforce the bottom surface, and long horizontal members, the longitudinal dimension of the package cannot be shortened. Conversely, depending on the packaging method, the longitudinal dimension of the package of the assembled furniture set may be larger than that of the finished product. In this case, even though it is sold as a set of assembled furniture, it is often impossible to load it into the consumer's car. The consumer has to pay a fee to request delivery, and is unable to start assembling the furniture immediately after returning home. The large longitudinal dimension of the package may not reduce the delivery cost very much. In other words, the advantage of selling a horizontally long TV stand as a set of assembled furniture may not be fully obtained.

[0007] Therefore, in order to secure the advantage of selling it as a knock-down furniture set, it is conceivable to form the upper and lower surfaces of the main body by connecting small plate materials instead of the large top and bottom plates or long horizontal members that have been generally used in conventional TV stands, etc. For example, in the TV stand of Patent Document 1, multiple small boxes are arranged continuously in the left-right direction and connected via top and bottom plates, but by directly connecting the boxes to each other in the left-right direction and eliminating the top and bottom plates, the package size of the components packed as a knock-down furniture set can be made smaller. However, simply eliminating the top and bottom plates causes the following problems.

[0008] One problem is unique to prefabricated furniture. With furniture manufactured in a factory, misalignment (steps) at the joints between boards can be prevented by so-called on-site matching, and steps can be eliminated by post-processing such as surface grinding after assembly. In contrast, with prefabricated furniture sets, all boards are pre-processed with holes for connecting parts, and are randomly combined and packed without checking the dimensional compatibility of the boards when assembled. On the other hand, since the dimensional errors of each board cannot be eliminated no matter how strictly the processing control is performed, it is practically impossible to prevent steps from occurring at the joints between boards (to make the surface even) as with furniture manufactured in a factory. Of course, it is not possible to allow consumers to eliminate steps by post-processing.

[0009] When assembling furniture, if the joints between boards are intentionally made flush, one of the joined boards may shift upwards or downwards from the other. For example, as shown in Figure 9(a), when boards A, B, and C are joined, various misalignments may occur at each joint, and the planes of the boards may cross each other. In particular, since TV stands and the like have generally used a single top plate, consumers take it for granted that the top surface is flush, and when uneven or crossed steps that are not intended by the design appear as described above, they may be perceived as low quality or defective, even if they are minor and do not affect the placement of the TV.

[0010] Another issue is strength. The underside of the TV stand is not visible under normal use, so slight unevenness (whether it looks good or bad) does not pose much of a problem like the top side. However, if the main body is supported by legs so that it is raised off the floor, the weight of the main body itself and the items stored inside or placed on the top side may push the main body downward, causing the joints between the plates to bend and fail, as shown in Figure 9(b). In addition, if the legs are made longer to make the appearance more stylish or to make it easier for a robot vacuum cleaner to get under the main body, a large load is also placed on the attachment parts of the legs.

[0011] In order to protect the joints between the boards, it is possible to support each board forming the bottom surface of the main body with multiple legs, or to place another board over the joints between the boards, but this would increase the number of parts and complicate the assembly work, undermining the advantage of selling it as a prefabricated furniture set. It also goes against the aim of making the exterior stylish and being compatible with robot vacuum cleaners.

[0012] Due to the above problems, it has been thought that it is impossible to eliminate long parts such as the large top plate that constitutes the upper surface of the main body and the large bottom plate that constitutes the lower surface of the main body to which the legs are attached in wide TV stands, etc. As a result, it is not possible to compress the longitudinal dimensions of the packaged components of the assembly furniture set for such horizontally long furniture, and it has not been possible to fully enjoy the benefits of selling it as an assembly furniture set.

[0013] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide furniture such as a horizontally elongated item storage table having a roughly rectangular main body formed by integrating a number of storage sections in the left-right direction, to enable the longitudinal dimension of the packaged state of the assembly furniture set to be compressed when the assembly furniture is made into assembly furniture, to eliminate the top plate that is provided to cover the entire upper surface of the main body, and to eliminate long members such as a bottom plate that is provided to span the entire lower surface of the main body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] The invention described in claim 1 is A piece of furniture comprising a main body having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by integrating three storage sections in the left-right direction, and legs provided below the main body for supporting the main body so as to raise it above a floor surface, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the top plate of each storage section so that the height positions of the top plate and the side end surface of the top plate are aligned with the side surface of the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section, thereby forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate so that a side end surface of the bottom plate abuts against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; said shared side panels have upper portions which protrude upward from between said top panels and form minute steps whose upper end surfaces form a band-like shape on said top surface in a plan view, and lower portions which protrude downward from between said bottom panels and form a pair of left and right wall-like legs which stand upright so that their lower end surfaces come into contact with a floor surface. to provide.

[0015] The invention described in claim 2 is as follows: 2. The furniture according to claim 1, wherein a reinforcing support plate is provided below each of the storage sections, the reinforcing support plate being connected and fixed to the side surface of the leg so that its side end surface abuts against the side surface of the leg and the reinforcing support plate being connected and fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate so that its upper end surface abuts against the lower surface of the bottom plate. to provide.

[0016] The invention described in claim 3 is 3. The furniture according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing support plates provided below the two storage compartments located on both the left and right sides of the main body are auxiliary legs whose lower ends are in contact with the floor surface. to provide.

[0017] The invention described in claim 4 is 4. The furniture according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary legs are narrower in width than the bottom plate to which they are connected and fixed, and the outer sides are inclined so that the width becomes narrower from the upper end side to the lower end side. to provide.

[0018] The invention described in claim 5 is The furniture according to claim 2, characterized in that the reinforcing support plate provided below the storage section located at the center of the main body is connected and fixed so that both left and right end faces abut against the inner sides of the pair of left and right legs, and the lower end face is held upward so as to be separated from the floor surface. to provide.

[0019] The invention described in claim 6 is as follows: 6. The furniture according to claim 5, wherein the storage section located at the center of the main body is divided into left and right sections by a partition plate whose upper and lower ends are connected and fixed to the top and bottom plates of the storage section. to provide.

[0020] The invention described in claim 7 is as follows: 7. The furniture according to claim 6, further comprising an auxiliary leg part in the form of a column, which is erected substantially at the center of the bottom plate of the storage part located at the center and has its lower end in contact with the floor surface. to provide.

[0021] The invention described in claim 8 is 8. The furniture according to claim 7, wherein the columnar auxiliary leg has a length adjustment mechanism that allows the lower end of the columnar auxiliary leg to be placed on or separated from the floor surface. to provide.

[0022] The invention described in claim 9 is as follows: The furniture according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the top and bottom plates constituting the storage section located at the center of the main body have a larger dimensional ratio in the left-right direction in length than the top and bottom plates constituting the storage sections located on the left and right sides. to provide.

[0023] The invention described in claim 10 is as follows: The furniture according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the side panels constituting the left and right side walls of the main body are connected and fixed so that their upper end surfaces abut against the lower surface of the top panel, and are connected and fixed so that their lower end side surfaces abut against the side end surfaces of the bottom panel. to provide.

[0024] The invention described in claim 11 is as follows: 9. The furniture according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing support plate is located toward the rear in the front-rear direction of the bottom plate. to provide.

[0025] The invention described in claim 12 is as follows: The furniture according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that each of the storage sections has a back panel that is held and fixed by fitting its four sides into grooves formed on the underside of the top panel, the upper surface of the bottom panel, and the side surfaces of the left and right side panels. to provide.

[0026] The invention described in claim 13 is as follows: Each of the storage sections includes a door that faces the front end surface of the top plate and the bottom plate and that can open and close an opening of each storage section individually; 9. The furniture according to claim 1, wherein the shared side panel has a front end projecting forward from between the closed doors. to provide.

[0027] The invention described in claim 14 is as follows: A piece of furniture having a body part that is generally rectangular and has a plurality of storage parts integrated in the left-right direction, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section so that the side end surface of the top plate abuts against the side surface of the side plate, forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the side surfaces of the shared side plates so that the side end surfaces abut against the side surfaces of the shared side plates to form the lower surface of the main body section, to provide.

[0028] The invention described in claim 15 is as follows: A piece of furniture having a body part that is generally rectangular in shape and has three or more storage parts integrated in the left-right direction, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the top plate of each storage section so that the height positions of the top plate and the side end surface of the top plate are aligned with the side surface of the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section, thereby forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate in a state in which the side end surface is abutted against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; a top portion of the shared side panel protrudes upward from between the top panels, and the top end surface of the shared side panel forms a band-like minute step portion in a plan view on the top surface of the shared side panel; to provide.

[0029] The invention described in claim 16 is as follows: A piece of furniture comprising a body part having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by integrating three or more storage parts in the left-right direction, and legs provided below the body part and supporting the body part so as to raise it above a floor surface, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section so that the side end surface of the top plate abuts against the side surface of the side plate, forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate so that a side end surface of the bottom plate abuts against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; The shared side panel has a lower portion protruding downward from between the bottom panel and forming an upright wall-like leg portion so that the lower end surface of the leg abuts against the floor surface. to provide.

[0030] The invention described in claim 17 is as follows: 17. The furniture according to claim 16, characterized in that a reinforcing support member is provided below each of the storage sections and is connected and fixed to the side surface of the leg and the underside of the bottom plate. to provide.

[0031] The invention described in claim 18 is as follows: 18. The furniture according to claim 17, wherein the reinforcing support member is a plate member connected and fixed so that its side end surface abuts against the side surface of the leg and its upper end surface abuts against the lower surface of the bottom plate. to provide.

[0032] The invention described in claim 19 is as follows: 19. The furniture according to claim 18, wherein the reinforcing support members are auxiliary legs whose lower end faces are in contact with the floor surface at the lower left and right sides of the main body. to provide.

[0033] The invention described in claim 20 is as follows: 17. The furniture according to claim 16, characterized in that columnar auxiliary legs are provided below all or some of the storage sections, the columnar auxiliary legs being connected and fixed to the underside of the bottom plate and being in contact with the floor surface so as to support the load applied from the bottom plate of the storage section onto the floor surface. to provide.

[0034] The invention described in claim 21 is as follows: The furniture according to claim 16, characterized in that all or a part of the storage section is divided into left and right sections by a partition plate whose upper and lower ends are connected and fixed to the top and bottom plates of the storage section. to provide. Effect of the Invention

[0035] According to the present invention, in a furniture item such as a horizontally long item storage stand (TV stand) having a roughly rectangular main body formed by integrating a number of storage sections in the left-right direction, when this is made into an assembly furniture item, it is possible to shorten and compress the longitudinal dimension of the packaged assembled furniture set, eliminate the top plate that is provided to cover the entire upper surface of the main body, or eliminate long members such as a bottom plate that is provided to span the entire lower surface of the main body. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a furniture (article placement table) of the present invention as viewed obliquely from above on the front side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the article placement platform as viewed obliquely from below on the rear side. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the article placement table with the door open. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a television is placed on the article placement stand. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the plate members (excluding the shelf plate provided in the central storage section) that constitute the article placement platform. [Figure 6] 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a minute step portion of the article placement table in FIG. 1; [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating reinforcing support plates provided below the storage sections on both the left and right sides. [Figure 8] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining the connection of plate members constituting a storage section located in the center of the main body. [Figure 9] 13 is a diagram for explaining a case where the article placement table is installed against a wall together with a wall-mounted stand. FIG. [Figure 10] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining problems that arise when the upper and lower surfaces of the article placement platform are formed by joining a plurality of top and bottom plates. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] (Item placement table 1) An article placement stand 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The article placement stand 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 3 is a horizontally long lowboard type piece of furniture (assembly furniture) in which three storage sections 6, 7, and 8 are integrated in the left-right direction, and is mainly used as a TV stand. The article placement stand 1 includes a main body 2 having a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a pair of left and right wall-like legs 3, 3 provided so as to protrude downward from a lower surface 22 (Fig. 2) of the main body 2. As shown in Fig. 4, an image display device such as a TV, a tunerless TV, or a monitor display is placed on an upper surface (article placement surface) 21 of the main body 2. The legs 3, 3 stand upright so that their lower end surfaces are in contact with the floor surface, supporting the main body 2 so as to be lifted off the floor surface.

[0038] 2, on the underside 22 of the main body 2, in addition to the legs 3, 3 located at two midpoints in the left-right direction, there are a substantially rectangular reinforcing support plate 4 suspended between the legs 3, 3, i.e., below the storage section 6 located in the center of the main body 2, and a substantially inverted trapezoidal reinforcing support plate 5, 5 suspended outside the left-right direction of each leg 3, i.e., below the storage sections 7, 8 located on both the left and right sides of the main body 2. The reinforcing support plate 4 has a vertical width set to about half that of the legs 3, and is connected and fixed so that the side end faces on both the left and right sides are aligned along the inner faces of the legs 3, 3, the upper end face is connected and fixed so that it is aligned along the underside 22, and the lower end face is set upward so as to be separated from the floor surface. The reinforcing support plates 5, 5 have a vertical dimension set to the same length as the height of the legs 3, and are connected and fixed so that their vertical inner end faces are aligned along the outer faces of the legs 3, and their upper end faces are connected and fixed so that they are aligned along the underside 22, forming auxiliary legs that stand upright with their lower end faces in contact with the floor. The reinforcing support plate 4 and the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are provided at the same position in the middle of the storage section in the front-to-rear direction and toward the rear of the underside 22 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0039] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the main body 2 is formed by integrating three box-shaped storage sections 6, 7, and 8 in the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 3, each storage section 6, 7, and 8 has an opening 6a, 7a, and 8a that opens to the front side, and approximately rectangular doors 66, 76, and 86 that can open and close these openings individually are attached rotatably via hinges HG1 and HG2. The top surface 21 of the main body 2 is formed in an approximately flat shape as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and an image display device such as a television is placed on it as shown in Fig. 4. Electronic devices such as HDD recorders, television accessories, and other media are stored in each storage section. As shown in Fig. 2, a circular grommet G is attached to the back surface 23 of the main body 2 to pass cords through.

[0040] The article placement table 1 is sold as an assembly furniture set in which components including the wooden boards shown in FIG. 5 are packed in a cardboard box, and the consumer assembles the set at home according to the assembly instructions. Each wooden board may be any of solid wood, laminated wood, and laminated wood (plywood). In addition to wooden boards, hardboard (hard fiberboard) and synthetic resin boards may also be used as long as they have a strength suitable for use as components of the article placement table 1. In addition, the above-mentioned various boards may be used in combination. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the assembly furniture set includes, in addition to the above-mentioned boards, a column-shaped auxiliary leg 67 (to be described later), joint parts (joint wooden shaft W, cam lock bolt B, and cam lock L) for connecting the boards together, door attachment parts (hinge HG1, hinge HG2, stay ST, magnet catches), grommets G for passing cords through, back panel stoppers, bolts, cover caps, assembly instructions, and the like.

[0041] The dimensions of the article placement stand 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The following dimensions are merely examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by these values. The article placement stand 1 has a depth D of about 34 cm, a height H of about 36 cm, and a width W of about 150 cm, and is set so that a large TV with a width of about 100 to 140 cm can be placed thereon in a visually balanced manner. The height H1 of the main body 2 is about 26 cm, the height H2 of the pair of left and right legs 3, 3 is about 10 cm, and a gap of about 10 cm is provided between the bottom surface 22 of the main body 2 and the floor surface. The top plate, bottom plate, and back plate of each storage section constituting the top surface 21, bottom surface 22, and back surface 23 of the main body 2 are formed separately from the top plate, bottom plate, and back plate of the other storage sections. Specifically, the width W1 of the generally rectangular top plate 61, bottom plate 62, and back plate 63 constituting the central storage section 6 is approximately 85 cm, and the width W2 of the generally rectangular top plates 71, 81, generally rectangular bottom plates 72, 82, and generally rectangular back plates 73, 83 constituting the left and right storage sections 7, 8 is approximately 30 cm. Since the widths of the top plates, bottom plates, and back plates constituting the left and right storage sections 7, 8 are the same, the article placement platform 1 appears symmetrical, and minute steps 21a, 21a and legs 3, 3, which will be described later, also appear symmetrical in the middle of the main body 2 in the left-right direction.

[0042] As described above, even the top plate 61, bottom plate 62, and back plate 63 of the storage section 6, which has a long width, are only slightly less than 60% of the width of the article placement table 1, so that the longitudinal dimension of the package of the assembled furniture set packed in the cardboard box can be compressed shorter than in the past. This is expected to make it easier to load the assembled furniture set into the consumer's vehicle and to reduce the delivery fee paid to the delivery company. Note that the sum of the widths W1, W2, and W2 of the top plate 61, 71, 81, bottom plate 62, 72, 82, and back plate 63, 73, 83 is shorter than the width W of the article placement table 1, but as described later, the top plate, bottom plate, and back plate are connected via two approximately rectangular side plates 64, 64 that separate the storage section from each other, and the width of the article placement table 1 is larger by about 5 cm, which is equivalent to the thickness W3 of the two side plates 64, 64 sandwiched between them.

[0043] (Main body 2) 1 to 3, the main body 2 is formed by integrating three storage sections 6, 7, and 8 in the left-right direction. Each of the storage sections 6, 7, and 8 is a box-shaped body consisting of a top plate, a bottom plate, a back plate, and left and right side plates. However, the storage sections 6, 7, and 8 are not configured independently of each other, and the side plates 64, 64 of each storage section that are adjacent to another storage section are all shared with the other adjacent storage section. 1 to 3 and 5, the box-shaped body forming the central storage section 6 is composed of a top plate 61, a bottom plate 62, a back plate 63 and left and right side plates 64, 64, the box-shaped body forming the left storage section 7 when facing the front of the article mounting stand 1 is composed of a top plate 71, a bottom plate 72, a back plate 73 and left and right side plates 64, 74, and the box-shaped body forming the right storage section 8 when facing the front of the article mounting stand 1 is composed of a top plate 81, a bottom plate 82, a back plate 83 and left and right side plates 64, 84. In other words, the storage sections 6 and 7, and the storage sections 6 and 8 are connected via the side plates 64 that separate them from each other.

[0044] (Tabletops 61, 71, 81) 1 to 3, the top plates 61, 71, 81 are connected and fixed horizontally so that their height positions are aligned with each other and so that their side end faces are aligned with the side surfaces near the upper ends of the side plates 64, 64, and together with the upper end faces of the side plates 64, 64, they form the upper surface 21 of the main body 2. The top plate 61 is connected and fixed so that both left and right end faces abut against the two left and right side plates 64, 64, and the top plates 71, 81 are connected and fixed so that their inner end faces abut against one of the side plates 64, and the lower faces of their outer ends abut against the upper end faces of the side plates 74, 84.

[0045] As mentioned above, the top plates 61, 71, and 81 are connected to the side surfaces of the upper ends of the side plates 64, 64. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the connection positions are set so that the upper ends of the side plates 64, 64 always protrude upward slightly higher (by a certain height of about 0.5 to 2 mm) than the upper surfaces of the top plates 61, 71, and 81. As a result, the upper parts of the side plates 64, 64 protrude upward from between the top plates 61, 71, and 81, and the upper end surfaces form minute steps 21a, 21a that are band-like in plan view and extend over the entire front-rear direction of the top surface 21, and together with the top plates 61, 71, and 81, constitute a part of the top surface 21. Naturally, there may be a slight misalignment in height between the adjacent top plates 61 and 71, or between the top plates 61 and 81, due to dimensional errors, but the misalignment is camouflaged by the presence of the minute steps 21a that have a predetermined width and protrude upward between them. Although FIG. 6 shows the minute step 21a appearing between the top plate 61 and the top plate 71, the minute step 21a appearing between the top plate 61 and the top plate 81 also appears in the same manner.

[0046] As described above, since the top plates 71, 81 have the same width, the minute steps 21a, 21a appear symmetrically in the middle of the top surface 21 in the left-right direction, and are impressed on the consumer as a design intentionally provided on the top surface 2 of the main body 2. Although the height of the minute steps 21a is set to be very slight, it is quite possible to ensure that the two minute steps 21a, 21a protrude upward if the dimensional errors of the side panels 64, 64 and the top plates 61, 71, 81 directly fixed to them are processed so as to fall within a predetermined standard range. Therefore, the minute steps 21a, 21a appear in the same way in the finished product of furniture assembled by the consumer at home and in the sample displayed in the store, and are objectively recognized as convex parts forming the design of the top surface 21.

[0047] (Bottom plate 62, 72, 82) 2, the bottom plates 62, 72, 82 are connected and fixed horizontally so that their height positions are aligned with each other and their side end faces are aligned with the side surfaces of the middle parts of the side plates 64, 64 near the lower ends thereof, and together with the lower end surfaces of the side plates 74, 84, they form the lower surface 22 of the main body 2. The bottom plate 62 is connected and fixed so that both left and right end faces abut against the two left and right side plates 64, 64, and the bottom plates 72, 82 are connected and fixed so that their inner end faces abut against one of the side plates 64, and their outer end faces abut against the lower end side surfaces of the side plates 74, 84. Naturally, there may be slight height deviations due to dimensional errors between the adjacent bottom plates 62 and 72, or between the bottom plates 62 and 82, but this is camouflaged by the presence of the legs 3 protruding downward between them.

[0048] As mentioned above, the bottom plates 62, 72, 82 are connected to the side surfaces of the side plates 64, 64 at the midpoints near the lower ends thereof, and specifically, the connection positions are set so that the lower parts of the side plates 64, 64 protrude about 10 cm from the lower surfaces of the bottom plates 62, 72, 82. As a result, the lower parts of the side plates 64, 64 protrude vertically downward from between the bottom plates 62, 72, 82 as shown in Fig. 2, and form a pair of left and right wall-like legs 3, 3 with a height of about 10 cm, which stand upright with their lower end faces abutting the floor surface as shown in Fig. 1. Since the legs 3 stand upright so as to extend in the front-rear direction, their width is only the thickness of the side plate 64 (about 2.5 cm), and it is expected that they do not stand out much when the article placement table 1 is viewed from the front, giving a stylish impression.

[0049] (backboard 63, 73, 83) The back panels 63, 73, 83 are held and fixed in place by having their four sides (plate ends) fitted into linear grooves T (Figure 5) recessed near the rear ends of the undersides of the top panels 61, 71, 81, the upper surfaces of the bottom panels 62, 72, 82, and the side surfaces of the side panels 64, 74, 84, and together with the rear end surfaces of the above-mentioned panels, form the back surface 23 of the main body 2. Specifically, the upper end of the back panel 63 is fitted into the groove of the top panel 61, the lower end into the groove of the bottom panel 62, and both left and right ends into the grooves of the side panels 64, 64; the upper end of the back panel 73 is fitted into the groove of the top panel 71, the lower end into the groove of the bottom panel 72, the inner end into the groove of the side panel 64, and the other outer end into the groove of the side panel 74; and the upper end of the back panel 83 is fitted into the groove of the top panel 81, the lower end into the groove of the bottom panel 82, the inner end into the groove of the side panel 64, and the other outer end into the groove of the side panel 84.

[0050] The claws of a back panel stopper (not shown) are inserted into the gaps between the back panels 63, 73, 83 and the grooves T of each of the above-mentioned boards, and the back panel stoppers are fixed to the back panels with wood screws, thereby fixing the back panels 63, 73, 83 so that they do not slip within the grooves. The back panels 63, 73, 83 are fitted into a substantially rectangular frame formed by the top panel, bottom panel, and left and right side panels, so that the intersection angle (right angle) of each board member is maintained constant, preventing the main body 2 from being suddenly destroyed even if an excessive load is applied, such as by a person standing on the main body 2.

[0051] (Side panels 64, 64) As described above, the side plates 64, 64 are connected and fixed so that the left and right end faces of the top plate 61, the bottom plate 62 and the reinforcing support plate 4 abut against their inner surfaces (the surfaces facing the center of the main body 2), and are connected and fixed so that the inner end faces of the top plate 71, 81, the bottom plate 72, 82 and the reinforcing support plate 5 abut against their outer surfaces (the surfaces facing both the left and right sides of the main body 2), forming side walls that divide the storage sections 6 and 7, and the storage sections 6 and 8 into left and right sections and connect these storage sections to each other. And, as described above, the upper part of each side plate 64 forms the minute step portion 21a protruding from the top surface 21 of the main body 2, and the lower part forms the leg portion 3 protruding from the bottom surface 22 of the main body 2.

[0052] The side panels 64, 64 are about 340 mm long in the front-rear direction, longer than the top panels 61, 71, 81, bottom panels 62, 72, 82, and the left and right side panels 74, 84 (about 315 mm long in the front-rear direction), and are connected so that their rear ends are aligned with the top and bottom panels and their front ends protrude forward from the top and bottom panels. As a result, the front ends of the side panels 64, 64 protrude slightly (about 9 mm) forward from the doors 66, 76, 86 that close the openings 6a, 7a, 8a of the storage compartments, as shown in FIG. 1. Each door may be slightly misaligned forward and backward and may be slightly tilted diagonally due to a combination of machining dimensional errors and hinge installation errors. If there is a misalignment or tilt in the opposite directions between adjacent doors, it will be easily noticeable. Therefore, by placing the protruding parts of the side panels 64, 64 between adjacent doors to visually separate the adjacent doors, the differences in front-to-back position and inclination are camouflaged so that they cannot be directly compared.

[0053] As described above, the side plates 64, 64 are plate materials that extend over the entire length of the article placement table 1 in the vertical and front-rear directions, and the top and bottom plates of the two adjacent storage sections are all connected and fixed to the left and right sides of the side plates 64, 64 to form the key parts of the main body 2, and the lower parts of the side plates 64, 64 become wall-like legs 3, 3 that stand upright on the floor surface, and the legs 3, 3 do not easily come off the main body 2. In addition, there is no need to complicate the structure or assembly work of the article placement table 1 or increase the number of parts in order to provide the legs 3. Even if it is necessary to lengthen the legs 3 for the purpose of widening the space below the main body 2, no special reinforcement is required. The bottom and top plates that are adjacent to each other are joined via the side plates 64, 64, and the side plates 64, 64 are directly supported by the floor surface, so that the joints do not break as described in FIG. 10(b).

[0054] (Side panels 74, 84) The side plates 74, 84 constitute the left and right side walls of the main body 2. The outer side plate 74 is a substantially rectangular plate material forming the left side wall 24 of the main body 2 (storage section 7) as shown in FIG. 2. The side plate 74 is connected and fixed so that its upper end surface abuts against the lower surface of the top plate 71, and as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end surface is covered so as not to be exposed on the upper surface 21 side, while the inner surface of the lower end side is connected and fixed so that it abuts against the outer end surface of the bottom plate 72, and as shown in FIG. 2, the lower end surface forms a part of the lower surface 22 of the main body 2. The side plate 84 is a substantially rectangular plate material forming the right side wall 25 of the main body 2 (storage section 8) as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the side plate 84 is connected and fixed so that its upper end surface abuts against the underside of the top plate 81 and is covered so that it is not exposed on the top surface 21 side, while the inner surface of the lower end side is connected and fixed so that it abuts against the outer end surface of the bottom plate 82, and as shown in FIG. 2, the lower end surface forms part of the underside 22 of the main body 2.

[0055] As described above, the top plate 71, 81 is bridged over the side plate 64, 64 and the side plate 74, 84, but since the upper end faces of the side plate 74, 84 are hidden, only the band-shaped partition line formed by the two small steps 21a, 21a on the left and right sides is visible on the top surface 21 as shown in FIG. 1, and no other unnecessary lines are visible, so that a visual effect of making the appearance neat is expected. The side plate 74, 84 is set so that its lower end face is flush with the lower face of the bottom plate 72, 82, but due to dimensional errors, it may be shifted in the vertical direction relative to the lower face of the bottom plate 72, 82. However, since it is exposed on the lower face 22 side, which is difficult to see after installation, this does not cause any particular problem. The bottom faces of the top plate 71, 81 are connected to the side plate 74, 84, and the side end faces of the bottom plate 72, 82 are connected, and the joining directions are different from each other, which makes it difficult for the joint parts to be destroyed when a large load is applied to the storage parts 7, 8.

[0056] (Reinforcement support plate 4) As shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing support plate 4 is a plate material provided below the central storage section 6 so as to be perpendicular to the lower surface of the bottom plate 62 and the inner surfaces of the legs 3, 3, and is connected and fixed so that its upper end surface abuts the lower surface of the bottom plate 62, and is connected and fixed so that its left and right side end surfaces abut the inner surfaces of the pair of left and right legs 3, 3, and is provided so as to span between the legs 3, 3, and is held upward so as to be separated from the floor surface. The reinforcing support plate 4 supports the bottom plate 62 over its entire length in the left and right direction, thereby improving the load-bearing capacity of the bottom plate 62. In addition, the reinforcing support plate 4 maintains the intersection angle (right angle) between the legs 3, 3 and the bottom plate 62 and connects the legs 3, 3 so as to support each other, thereby improving the upright stability of the legs 3, 3. Since the reinforcing support plate 4 is held upward so that its lower end surface is separated from the floor surface, the entire floor surface below the storage section 6 can be cleaned by inserting a thin mop through the gap. The vertical dimension of the reinforcing support plate 4 may be made the same as that of the legs 3, 3 so that the reinforcing support plate 4 is placed on the floor surface, thereby ensuring that the bottom plate 62 is supported.

[0057] (Reinforcement support plate 5, 5) 2, the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are plate members provided below the storage sections 7, 8 on both the left and right sides so as to be perpendicular to the lower surfaces of the bottom plates 72, 82 and the outer surfaces of the legs 3, 3, and are connected and fixed so that their inner end surfaces abut against the outer surfaces of the legs 3 and their upper end surfaces abut against the lower surfaces of the bottom plates 72, 82, forming auxiliary legs that stand upright with their lower end surfaces grounded on the floor. Since the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are grounded so that their lower end surfaces face the floor, the floor surface supports the load applied to the bottom plates 72, 82 of the storage sections 7, 8, which are cantilevered by the side plates 64, respectively, preventing the storage sections 7, 8 from falling off and maintaining the intersection angle (right angle) between the legs 3, 3 and the floor surface to improve the upright stability of the legs 3. In addition, the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are aligned so that their corners (right angles) abut the intersections of the legs 3, 3 and the bottom plates 72, 82, so that the intersection angle (right angle) between the legs 3, 3 and the bottom plates 72, 82 can be maintained.

[0058] The reinforcing support plates 5, 5 may have the same width as the bottom plates 72, 82, but in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, they are set to be narrower than the bottom plates 72, 82, and the outer sides are inclined so that the width narrows from the upper end side to the lower end side. If the width is set to the same length as the bottom plates 72, 82, as shown by reference numeral 5' in Fig. 7(a), they are easily visible from the side of the article placement stand 1, and the upright plate ends look like they are protruding from the bottom of the storage section to the side, which may give a visual sense of incongruity. In addition, if the article placement stand 1 is installed close to a corner of a room, the reinforcing support plates get in the way, as shown by reference numeral 5' in Fig. 7(b), and the floor surface cannot be cleaned thoroughly to the corner.

[0059] However, by narrowing the width of the reinforcing support plate 5 and inclining the outer side, it can be hidden behind the storage section when viewed from above, as shown in FIG. 7(a). In addition, the lower end of the reinforcing support plate 5 is set back from the main body 2 to the inside, which prevents the little toe from being hit on it. Even if the article placement table 1 is installed close to the corner of a room, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a gap is formed between the reinforcing support plate and the wall, so that the hand can be inserted through the gap to the back side of the reinforcing support plate 5 and clean the floor surface to the corner. In this embodiment, the reinforcing support plate 5 is narrowed in width and inclined in width, but the above effect can be expected to be obtained even if only one of narrowing the width to be narrower than the bottom plate or inclining the outer side to narrow the width is implemented. It is also possible not to implement either of these.

[0060] The reinforcing support plate 4 and the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are formed separately from each other, the reinforcing support plate 4 has the same width as the bottom plate 62, and the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 have a width shorter than the bottom plates 72, 82. Therefore, these plate materials do not prevent the packaging dimensions of an assembly furniture set that is conventionally packed in a cardboard box from being compressed. The reinforcing support plates 4, 5 connect the legs 3, 3 to the bottom surfaces of each of the storage sections 6, 7, 8, and also strengthen the connections between the side panels and bottom panel of each of the storage sections 6, 7, 8, thereby strengthening the structure of the main body 2.

[0061] The bottom plates 62, 72, 82 and side plates 64, 64 (legs 3, 3) to which the reinforcing support plate 4 and the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are attached all extend over substantially the entire length in the front-to-rear direction of the article mounting platform 1. This makes it easy to make design changes, for example by shifting the attachment positions of the reinforcing support plates 4, 5 forward or backward, increasing the thickness of the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, or increasing the number of attached plates. Therefore, when problems are detected in the appearance or strength of the reinforcing support plates 4 and the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 through evaluation of a prototype, measures can be taken relatively easily.

[0062] In this embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5 are provided so as to be located rearward of the center in the front-rear direction of the bottom plates 62, 72, and 82. This is to make the article placement platform 1 look neater by hiding the reinforcing support plates 4, 5 behind the storage section when viewed from above the front. In addition, if the reinforcing support plates are located toward the rear, a large depth is ensured when a user wants to use the space below the storage section as a storage space, which is preferable. If the reinforcing support plate 4 is provided toward the rear, it is easy to clean the area below the storage section 6 through the gap between the floor surface. The reinforcing support plates 4, 5 are aligned in the front-rear direction and firmly support the legs 3, 3 by sandwiching them from both the left and right sides.

[0063] (Partition 65) The top plate 61 of the central storage section 6 has a larger width than the top plates of the other storage sections, and may be loaded with the full weight of the television or the like placed thereon, as shown in FIG. 4(a). This may cause a concern that the top plate 61 itself may bend more, or that the connection with the legs 3, 3 may be broken. To address this, as shown in FIG. 3, a partition plate 65 is provided that is connected and fixed to the lower surface of the top plate 61 and the upper surface of the bottom plate 62 with the upper and lower end faces in contact with each other to divide the inside of the storage section 6 into left and right, so that the load on the top plate 61 is shared by the bottom plate 62 located directly below. The bottom plate 62 is supported by the reinforcing support plate 4 and the columnar legs 67 described later, so that the weight load may be shared by the top plate 61. The partition plate 65 is provided at approximately the center of the storage section 6 in the left-right direction, and a shelf plate may be provided between the partition plate 65 and the side plate 64.

[0064] (Doors 66, 76, 86) As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the doors 66, 76, 86 can individually open and close the openings 6a, 7a, 8a formed in the front of each of the storage sections 6, 7, 8. The lower end of the door 66 of the storage section 6 is fixed to the bottom plate 62 via a hinge HG1 so as to be vertically rotatable, and the left and right sides are connected to the side plates 64, 64 by an opening adjustment stay ST so that the angle when opened is maintained approximately horizontal. The outer ends of the doors 76, 86 of the storage sections 7, 8 are fixed to the side plates 74, 84 via hinges HG2 so as to be horizontally rotatable. It is inevitable that each door will be slightly misaligned forward and backward or slightly tilted diagonally, which is easily noticeable when all the doors are closed, so that the misalignment and tilt are camouflaged by protruding the front ends of the side plates 64, 64 forward as described above.

[0065] (Column-shaped auxiliary leg 67) When a television or the like is placed on the top plate 61, the load on the bottom plate 62 is also considerably large, but there is a gap between the reinforcing support plate 4 that reinforces the bottom plate 62 and the floor surface, and there is a concern that the reinforcing support plate 4 may become more warped due to aging. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 2, a columnar auxiliary leg 67 is provided that is suspended from approximately the center of the underside of the bottom plate 62 and stands upright so as to touch the floor surface, thereby supporting the bottom plate 62. The auxiliary leg 67 comprises a rod-shaped leg main body 67a whose upper end is fixed to the bottom plate 62 and which has a nut portion at its lower end, and a pedestal 67b which has a bolt portion that is screwed into the nut portion and can be touched to and separated from the floor surface.

[0066] The auxiliary legs 67 are provided with a length adjustment mechanism that allows the base 67b to move up and down by rotating relative to the leg body 67a, and when a television or monitor is placed on the upper surface of the storage section 6 and a large load is applied to the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62, the base 67b at the lower end can be moved downward and placed on the floor surface to provide firm support from below. When the article placement stand 1 is installed against a wall together with a wall-mounted stand as described below, the base 67b can be moved away from the floor surface and placed below the base of the wall-mounted stand. When a television or the like is supported by a wall-mounted stand, the load applied to the top plate and the bottom plate is small, so the auxiliary legs 67 do not necessarily need to be placed on the ground, but it goes without saying that the auxiliary legs 67 may be placed on the ground if the upper surface of the base of the wall-mounted stand has a shape that allows the base 67b to abut against it.

[0067] (Both plates are connected together) The above-mentioned top plates 61, 71, 81, bottom plates 62, 72, 82, side plates 64, 74, 84, partition plate 65, and reinforcing support plates 4, 5 are connected and fixed to each other by using a combination of a wooden cylindrical joint shaft W, a cam lock bolt B, and a cam lock L as a connecting member. Here, with reference to Fig. 8, a case will be described in which the end faces (plate end faces) of the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 are connected and fixed to the side faces (plate faces) of two side plates 64 to form the central storage section 6. Note that the connection and fixation of the upper end face of the reinforcing support plate 4 to the lower face of the bottom plate 62, and the connection and fixation of the upper and lower end faces of the partition plate 65 to the lower face of the top plate 61 and the upper face of the bottom plate 62 are previously performed by a combination of the joint shaft W, a cam lock bolt B, and a cam lock L.

[0068] The connecting shaft W has one end inserted into an insertion hole 64a provided in the side surface of each side plate 64, and the other end inserted into insertion holes 61a, 62a, 4a provided in the end surfaces of the top plate 61, the bottom plate 62, and the reinforcing support plate 4, thereby connecting the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 to the side plate 64. Adhesive is applied to both ends of each connecting shaft W in advance, and the connecting shaft W is firmly fixed so as not to slip out of the insertion hole. The cam lock bolt B has a threaded portion screwed into a pilot hole (not shown) provided in the side surface of each side plate 64, and the end surfaces of the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 are abutted against the side surface of the side plate 64, so that the head H on the opposite side to the threaded portion is inserted into the insertion holes 61b, 62b provided in the end surfaces of the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62.

[0069] These insertion operations are performed simultaneously with the joining operation using the joining wooden shaft W described above. When the head H of the cam lock bolt B is inserted into the insertion holes 61b and 62b, the head H is exposed inside the cam lock holes 61c and 62c that open on the lower surfaces of the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62. Then, the cam lock L is engaged with the head H from the cam lock holes 61c and 62c, so that the cam lock bolt B is fixed so as not to slip out of the insertion holes 61b and 62b. As described above, the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 are connected to the side plate 64 by abutting the side end faces of the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 against the side surface of the side plate 64 and connecting and fixing the abutting faces with a connecting member. The back plate 63 is fitted so as to slide along the groove T formed in the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 when one side plate 64 is connected to the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62.

[0070] The combination of the connecting wooden shaft W, the cam lock bolt B, and the cam lock L is used when connecting the top plate 71 and the bottom plate 72 to the side plates 64, 74 to assemble the box-shaped body forming the storage section 7, and when connecting the top plate 81 and the bottom plate 82 to the side plates 64, 84 to assemble the box-shaped body forming the storage section 8. These connecting operations are also performed in the same manner as above. That is, the connecting and fixing of the plate materials is performed by abutting the plate surface of one plate material with the plate end surface of the other plate material, and connecting and fixing the abutting surfaces with the connecting member. In addition, in the side plate 64, the insertion hole 64c of the connecting wooden shaft W and the screw pilot hole 64d of the cam lock bolt B provided for connecting the top plate 71, 81 and the bottom plate 72, 82 are shifted in the front-rear direction from the insertion hole 64a and the screw pilot hole 64b for connecting the top plate 61 and the bottom plate 62 described above. This is to prevent the joining members used for the top and bottom plates, which are fixed to the left and right side surfaces of the side plate 64, from interfering with each other inside the side plate 64, while the top plate 61 and the top plate 71, 81, and the bottom plate 62 and the bottom plate 72, 82 are aligned in height, from interfering with each other inside the side plate 64. For the same reason, the holes provided in the side plate 64 for connection to the reinforcing support plate 4 are also shifted in position in the vertical direction with respect to the holes for connection to the reinforcing support plate 5.

[0071] (Effects of the above embodiment) According to the above embodiment, the following effects are achieved. In the article placement table 1 having the horizontally long main body 2 in the shape of a roughly rectangular parallelepiped, the top plate 61, 71, 81, the bottom plate 62, 72, 82, and the back plate 63, 73, 83 of each of the storage sections 6, 7, 8 are all individually formed, and these are connected and fixed via the side plates 64, 64 shared by the adjacent storage sections and separating each storage section, thereby forming the upper surface 21, the lower surface 22, and the back surface 23 of the main body 2. Therefore, it is possible to form a horizontally long article placement table without using a large top plate or a large bottom plate as in conventional furniture. As a result, the assembly furniture set of the article placement table in which the components including the above-mentioned plate materials are packed is compressed in the longitudinal dimension of the package, making it easier to load the product into a car that a consumer drives up to the store, and is expected to reduce delivery costs.

[0072] According to the above embodiment, the upper part of the shared side panels 64, 64 protrudes slightly upward from between the top panels 61, 71, 81, and the upper end surface forms a band-like minute step 21a, 21a in a plan view that extends over the entire front-rear direction of the top surface 21 of the main body 2, and constitutes a part of the top surface 21 together with the top panels 61, 71, 81. As a result, even if there is a vertical misalignment between adjacent top panels, the minute step 21a interposed between them separates the top panels to the left and right, and protrudes upward from each top panel, thereby camouflaging the vertical misalignment between the top panels. Although it is practically impossible to eliminate the step from the joint between the top panels in assembled furniture, it is possible to make consumers recognize it as a design intended to constitute a part of the top surface 21, rather than as an irregular unevenness that appears on the top surface 21 of the main body 2. Incidentally, making the side plate 64 protrude slightly (for example, by a certain height of about 0.5 to 2 mm) from the upper surface of the top plate can be easily realized by properly managing the dimensions of the plate material. The design value of the protrusion amount of the minute step portion 21a can be appropriately determined taking into consideration dimensional errors that may occur in the actual processing of the plate material.

[0073] According to the above embodiment, the lower parts of the shared side panels 64, 64 protrude downward from between the bottom panels 62, 72, 82 to form a pair of opposing wall-like legs 3, 3, which stably support the main body 2 in a state where it is raised above the floor surface. The side panels 64, 64 are members that cover the entire main body 2 in the front-rear and up-down directions, and form the key points of the main body 2 by connecting the three storage sections 6, 7, 8, the top plate, and the bottom plate, and the side panels that form the key points become the wall-like legs 3, 3 that stand upright on the floor surface as they are, so they are unlikely to come off due to the load of the main body 2, etc., unlike conventional furniture in which rod-like legs formed separately are attached to the main body. In addition, it is not necessary to complicate the structure or assembly work of the furniture or increase the number of parts in order to provide the legs 3, 3. The legs 3, 3 raise the main body 2 above the floor surface, giving a stylish impression and making it easier to clean the floor surface below the main body 2.

[0074] According to the above embodiment, when a video display device such as a television is installed on the upper surface (item placement surface) 21 of the main body 2, a stand S (base S) that is narrower in width than the main body of the video display device and is provided at one center or two locations on both the left and right ends is used. B 4(a) so as to be fitted between the left and right minute step portions 21a, 21a, or as shown in FIG. 4(b) so as to straddle both the left and right outer sides of the left and right minute step portions 21a, 21a, the image display device can be placed in the center of the upper surface 21 formed symmetrically on the left and right with a visual sense of stability and without being attached to the stand S or base S. B The image display device can be installed without climbing up onto the minute step 21a. When the distance between the stands S, S provided at the two left and right ends and the distance between the minute steps 21a, 21a are substantially the same, one stand S can be disposed between the left and right minute steps 21a, 21a and the other stand S can be disposed on the outside between the left and right minute steps 21a, 21a, as shown in Fig. 4(c), thereby installing the image display device in substantially the center of the upper surface 21.

[0075] According to the above embodiment, the top plate 61, bottom plate 62 and back plate 63 constituting the central storage section 6 are 2.5 times or more wider than the top plates 71, 81, bottom plates 72, 82 and back plates 73, 83 constituting the left and right outer storage sections 7, and the dimensional ratio is set large so that the width of the central storage section 6 is sufficiently longer than the width of the left and right outer storage sections 7, 8. As a result, the interval between the left and right minute steps 21a, 21a is wide, and even an image display device having a wide stand base in the center can be stably installed in the center of the upper surface 21 without riding on the minute steps 21a, 21a. In addition, the interval between the pair of left and right legs 3, 3 is also wide in the main body 2, so that the main body 2 is stably supported.

[0076] According to the above embodiment, the distance between the left and right minute step portions 21a, 21a is determined by the widths of the top plate 61, bottom plate 62 and back plate 63, and by changing these width dimensions, it is possible to easily arrange item loading tables of multiple sizes that can accommodate image display devices of various sizes, with little or no change to other components.

[0077] According to the embodiment described above, when a wall-mounted stand S that supports a television T at a position higher than the main body 2 is installed against a wall as shown in FIG. 9, the base WS B By moving the article stand 1 close to the wall so that the TV T fits between the left and right legs 3, 3, it is possible to arrange the TV T, the article stand 1, and the main body 2 so that they are substantially symmetrical, and the storage sections 6, 7, 8 are positioned substantially directly below the TV T. Note that there is a reinforcing support plate 4 and a columnar leg 67 below the storage section 6, but the leg 67 can be moved away from the floor surface by a length adjustment mechanism to adjust the height of the wall-mounted stand base WS B 10. The support member 64 may be inserted under the reinforcing support plate 4 and the columnar legs 67.

[0078] According to the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are provided to be connected and fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate 62, 72, 82 and the side surface of the wall-like leg portion 3, 3, thereby preventing the connection between the leg portion and the bottom plate in each storage section from breaking and improving the load-bearing capacity of each bottom plate. The reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are connected and fixed so that their right angle portions and two sides sandwiching the right angle portions are aligned with the bottom plate and the leg portion, thereby maintaining the relative positions and cross relationship between the leg portion 3, 3 and the bottom plate 72, 82. The wall-like leg portion 3, 3 is fixed so as to be sandwiched from both the left and right sides by the reinforcing support plates 4 and 5, so that tilting is reliably prevented and the upright stability of the leg portion is improved. The reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are connected to the legs 3, 3, but also connect the side plate of the storage section formed integrally with the legs 3, 3 to the bottom plate, resulting in the structural reinforcement of the storage section 6, 7, 8 and the main body portion 2. The reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are formed individually like the top, bottom and back plates of each storage section, and are not long horizontal members that span the entire width of the furniture, so they do not hinder the longitudinal dimension of the packaged assembled furniture set from being compressed.

[0079] According to the above embodiment, the bottom plates 62, 72, 82 and the legs 3, 3 have a length that covers almost the entire front-rear direction of the main body 2, while the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 connected and fixed thereto are provided perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the main body 2, so that the mounting positions of the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 can be moved in the front-rear direction, the plate thickness of the reinforcing support plates can be increased, and the number of reinforcing support plates mounted can be increased. In other words, when a problem is detected in the appearance or strength of the reinforcing support plates 4 and 5, 5 through evaluation of a prototype, it can be easily addressed if it can be addressed by changing the mounting position, plate thickness, number, etc.

[0080] According to the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 provided below the storage sections 7, 8 on both the left and right sides of the main body 2 have their lower end faces in contact with the floor surface, thereby contributing to raising the main body 2 above the floor surface as auxiliary legs and enabling the storage sections 7, 8 supported at one end by the side plates 64 to be securely supported so as not to fall off. The auxiliary legs come into contact with both the floor surface and the legs 3, thereby strongly preventing the legs 3 from tilting relative to the floor surface, and further improving the upright stability of the legs 3.

[0081] According to the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 5, 5 are set to be narrower than the bottom plates 72, 82, and the outer sides are inclined so as to narrow from the upper end side to the lower end side, so that when the article placement stand 1 is viewed from above, it is hidden behind the storage sections 7, 8, giving a visually neat impression. Even if the article placement stand 1 is installed close to a corner of a room, the floor surface can be cleaned by reaching a hand behind the reinforcing support plate 5 through the gap with the wall. Furthermore, since the reinforcing support plate 5 is set back from both the left and right ends of the main body 2, accidents in which the little toe gets caught and injured are prevented.

[0082] According to the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are provided rearward from the center in the front-to-rear direction of the bottom plate, so that when the article mounting platform 1 is viewed from above the front, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are hidden behind the main body 2 and are difficult to see, resulting in a neat appearance. When the space below the main body 2 is used as a storage space, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 being located rearward increases the convenience of the storage space.

[0083] According to the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plate 4 is provided so as to span the pair of left and right legs 3, 3, and has its upper end face connected and fixed to the bottom plate 62 and its left and right side end faces connected and fixed to the left and right legs 3, 3, so that the legs 3, 3 support each other via the reinforcing support plate 4, and tilting of each leg 3 is more effectively prevented. In addition, since the reinforcing support plate 4 is set back upward so that its lower end face is separated from the floor surface, it does not interfere with the installation of the article mounting table 1 together with the wall-mounted stand against the wall.

[0084] According to the above embodiment, the load-bearing capacity of the bottom plate 61 is further improved by providing the column-shaped leg 67 that is vertically installed at the approximate center of the bottom plate 62 of the central storage section 6 and stands upright so that the pedestal 67b at the lower end is grounded on the floor surface. The reinforcing support plate 4 that reinforces the bottom plate 62 has a gap between it and the floor surface, and there is a concern that the reinforcing support plate 4 will bend significantly due to aging, but the leg 67 is grounded on the floor surface to support the bottom plate 62, so that the reinforcing support plate 4 can be prevented from bending. The leg 67 has a length adjustment mechanism, so that when the article placement table 1 is installed close to the wall together with the wall-mounted stand, the leg 67 can be separated from the floor surface and the base of the wall-mounted stand can be placed below the leg 67. If the upper surface of the base of the wall-mounted stand has a shape that allows the base 67b to abut against it, it may be abutted against the base of the stand after installation.

[0085] According to the above embodiment, in the central storage section 6, a partition plate 65 is provided whose upper and lower end faces are connected and fixed to the underside of the top plate 61 and the upper surface of the bottom plate 62 to divide the inside of the storage section 6 into left and right, so that the weight load on the top plate 61 can be shared by the bottom plate 62 via the partition plate 65. As described above, the bottom plate 62 is supported by the reinforcing support plate 4 and the columnar legs 67, so that bending of the top plate 61 and failure of the connection between the top plate 61 and the side plates 64, 64 are reliably prevented.

[0086] According to the above embodiment, the upper end faces of the left and right side plates 74, 84 are covered and hidden by the top plates 71, 81, so that only the dividing lines formed by the left and right minute steps 21a, 21a are visible on the upper surface of the main body 2, and no other unnecessary dividing lines are visible, resulting in a visually neat appearance. Also, the bottom surfaces of the top plates 71, 81 are connected to the side plates 74, 84, while the side end faces of the bottom plates 72, 82 are connected, and the different orientations of the joint surfaces make it difficult for the joints to break.

[0087] According to the above embodiment, the top plates 61, 71, 81 forming the upper surface 21 of the main body 2 are all connected via side plates shared with the adjacent storage sections, but the back plates 63, 73, 83 are fitted into a substantially rectangular frame formed by a top plate, a bottom plate and two side plates, thereby supporting each top plate and maintaining the intersection angle (right angle) of each plate member, thereby preventing the main body 2 from being suddenly destroyed even if excessive load is applied, such as by a person standing on the top surface of the main body 2.

[0088] According to the above embodiment, the side panels 64, 64 that separate the storage sections 6, 7, 8 are protruded forward from the doors 66, 76, 86 and are interposed between the adjacent doors, thereby camouflaging the front-to-back positions and inclinations of the adjacent doors so that they cannot be directly compared. This prevents the doors from being unnecessarily viewed as problematic when they are slightly misaligned in the front-to-back direction or slightly inclined.

[0089] (Modification of the above embodiment) In the above embodiment, a prefabricated furniture having an item storage stand 1 in which three storage sections are integrated in the left-right direction and have a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to other prefabricated furniture having two or four or more storage sections integrated in the left-right direction and have a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0090] In the above embodiment, the upper parts of the side plates 64, 64 shared by adjacent storage units are protruded upward from the upper surface of the top plate 61, 71, 81 to form the minute steps 21a, 21a, and the lower parts of the side plates 64 are protruded downward from the lower surface of the bottom plate 62, 72, 82 to form the legs 3, 3 that support the main body unit 2 so as to float above the floor surface, but it is also possible to form only either the minute steps or the legs, or to form neither. As a specific example of not providing minute steps, it is possible to expose the upper parts of the side plates shared by adjacent storage units on the upper surface of the main body unit between the top plates so as not to protrude upward from the upper surface of the top plate (so as to be approximately flush with the upper surface of the top plate or to be recessed downward from the upper surface of the top plate) and to form part of the upper surface. A specific example of not providing legs is to expose the lower parts of the side panels shared by adjacent storage units on the underside of the main body between the bottom panels so as not to protrude below the underside of the bottom panel (so as to be roughly flush with the underside of the bottom panel, or so as to be recessed upward from the underside of the bottom panel) and form part of the underside. Note that, instead of making the upper parts of the side panels shared by adjacent storage units protrude slightly from the top surface of the tabletop as minute steps, they may protrude to form walls on the top surface of the main body that are tall enough to support books from the sides like a book stand so as not to tip over.

[0091] In the above embodiment, the plate surfaces and plate end surfaces that are the contact surfaces between the plate materials are provided with insertion holes for inserting the connecting shaft W or the cam bolt B or pilot holes for screwing in, and the contact surfaces are connected and fixed with connecting members such as the connecting shaft and the cam bolt, but other connecting members may be used instead of or in addition to these. For example, L-shaped metal fittings that connect orthogonal plate surfaces or plate end surfaces may be used.

[0092] In the above embodiment, each of the storage sections 6, 7, and 8 is composed of a top plate, a bottom plate, a back plate, and left and right side plates, but for example, if the storage section does not need to be closed, the back plate may be omitted in part or in whole. Also, the door that closes the front opening may not be directed in part or in whole. In the above embodiment, the side plate shared by the adjacent storage sections protrudes forward to separate the adjacent doors, but the forward protrusion may be eliminated.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the reinforcing support plates 4, 5, 5 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the bottom plates 61, 71, 81 and the side plates 3, 3 and are connected and fixed to the undersides of the bottom plates 61, 71, 81 and the undersides of the sides of the legs 3, but instead of or in addition to these, other reinforcing support members may be provided which are connected and fixed to the undersides of the bottom plates 61, 71, 81 and the undersides of the sides of the legs 3. For example, L-shaped metal fittings which are connected and fixed to the undersides of the bottom plates 61, 71, 81 and the undersides of the sides of the legs 3 may be attached.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the columnar auxiliary leg 67 is provided only below the central storage section 6 (a part of the storage sections), but it may be provided below all of the storage sections. In the above embodiment, the partition plate, which is connected and fixed at both the top and bottom ends to the top and bottom plates to divide the storage section into left and right, is provided only in the central storage section 6 (a part of the storage sections), but it may be provided below all of the storage sections. In addition, various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 1. Item storage stand (furniture) 2 Main unit 21 Top surface (item placement surface) 21a Microstep 22 Bottom side 23 Back 3 legs 4 Reinforcement support plate 5 Reinforcement support plate (auxiliary legs) 6 Storage compartment (storage compartment located in the center) 6a opening 61 Tabletop 62 Bottom plate 63 Back plate 64 Sideboard (Shared Sideboard) 65 Partition 66 Doors 67 Columnar leg 7 Storage compartment (storage compartment located on the left side) 71 Tabletop 72 Bottom plate 73 Back plate 74 Side Panel 8 Storage compartment (storage compartment located on the right side) 81 Tabletop 82 Bottom plate 83 Back plate 84 Side Panel

Claims

1. A piece of furniture comprising a main body having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by integrating three storage sections in the left-right direction, and legs provided below the main body for supporting the main body so as to raise it above a floor surface, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the top plate of each storage section so that the height positions of the top plate and the side end surface of the top plate are aligned with the side surface of the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section, thereby forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate so that a side end surface of the bottom plate abuts against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; The shared side panels have an upper portion that protrudes upward from between the tabletop panels and whose upper end surface forms a tiny step that is band-shaped in a planar view on the upper surface, and a lower portion that protrudes downward from between the bottom panels and forms a pair of left and right wall-like legs that stand upright so that their lower end surfaces abut the floor surface.

2. Furniture as described in claim 1, characterized in that a reinforcing support plate is provided below each storage section, the side end surface of which is connected and fixed to the side surface of the leg so that it abuts against the side end surface of the leg, and the upper end surface of which is connected and fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate so that it abuts against the lower surface of the bottom plate.

3. 3. The furniture according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing support plates provided below the two storage compartments located on both the left and right sides of the main body are auxiliary legs whose lower ends are in contact with the floor surface.

4. 4. The furniture according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary legs are narrower in width than the bottom plate to which they are connected and fixed, and the outer edges are inclined so that the width narrows from the upper end side to the lower end side.

5. Furniture as described in claim 2, characterized in that a reinforcing support plate provided below the storage section located in the center of the main body is connected and fixed so that its left and right end faces abut the inner surfaces of the pair of left and right legs, and its lower end face is recessed upward so as to be separated from the floor surface.

6. 6. The furniture according to claim 5, wherein the storage section located at the center of the main body is divided into left and right sections by a partition plate whose upper and lower ends are connected and fixed to the top and bottom panels of the storage section.

7. 7. The furniture according to claim 6, further comprising a column-shaped auxiliary leg extending vertically from approximately the center of the bottom plate of the centrally located storage section and extending upright with its lower end in contact with the floor surface.

8. 8. The furniture according to claim 7, wherein the columnar auxiliary leg has a length adjustment mechanism that enables a lower end of the columnar auxiliary leg to be placed on or separated from the floor surface.

9. Furniture as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the top and bottom plates constituting the storage section located in the center of the main body have a larger dimensional ratio of length in the left-right direction than the top and bottom plates constituting the storage sections located on both the left and right sides.

10. Furniture as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the side panels constituting the side walls on both the left and right sides of the main body are connected and fixed so that their upper end surfaces abut against the underside of the tabletop, and are connected and fixed so that their lower end side surfaces abut against the side end surfaces of the bottom plate.

11. 9. The furniture according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing support plate is located toward the rear in the front-to-rear direction of the bottom plate.

12. Furniture as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that each storage section has a back panel whose four sides are fitted and fixed into grooves formed on the underside of the tabletop, the upper surface of the bottom panel, and the sides of the left and right side panels.

13. Each of the storage sections includes a door that faces the front end surface of the top plate and the bottom plate and that can open and close an opening of each storage section individually; 9. The furniture according to claim 1, wherein the shared side panel has a front end that protrudes forward from between the closed doors.

14. A piece of furniture having a body part that is generally rectangular and has a plurality of storage parts integrated in the left-right direction, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section so that the side end surface of the top plate abuts against the side surface of the side plate, forming the upper surface of the main body section; A piece of furniture characterized in that the bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections and is connected and fixed so that its side end surface abuts against the side surface of the shared side plate to form the underside of the main body section.

15. A piece of furniture having a body part that is generally rectangular in shape and has three or more storage parts integrated in the left-right direction, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the top plate of each storage section so that the height positions of the top plate and the side end surface of the top plate are aligned with the side surface of the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section, thereby forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate in a state in which the side end surface is abutted against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; The shared side panel has an upper portion that protrudes upward from between the tabletops and an upper end surface that forms a minute step portion that is band-shaped in a plan view on the top surface.

16. A piece of furniture comprising a body part having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by integrating three or more storage parts in the left-right direction, and legs provided below the body part and supporting the body part so as to raise it above a floor surface, Each storage section is composed of at least a top plate, a bottom plate, and left and right side plates, Among the side panels of each storage section, any side panel adjacent to another storage section is shared with the adjacent storage section; The top plate of each storage section is formed separately from the top plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the side plate shared with the adjacent storage section so that the side end surface of the top plate abuts against the side surface of the side plate, forming the upper surface of the main body section; a bottom plate of each storage section is formed separately from the bottom plates of the other storage sections, and is connected and fixed to the shared side plate so that a side end surface of the bottom plate abuts against the side surface of the shared side plate to form a lower surface of the main body section; The shared side panel has a lower portion that projects downward from between the bottom panel and forms an upright wall-like leg with its lower end surface abutting the floor surface.

17. 17. The furniture according to claim 16, characterized in that a reinforcing support member is provided below each of the storage sections and is connected and fixed to the side surface of the leg and the underside of the bottom plate.

18. The furniture according to claim 17, characterized in that the reinforcing support member is a plate material which is connected and fixed so that its side end surface abuts against the side surface of the leg portion and which is connected and fixed so that its upper end surface abuts against the lower surface of the bottom plate.

19. 19. The furniture according to claim 18, wherein the reinforcing support members on the lower left and right sides of the main body are auxiliary legs whose lower end surfaces contact the floor surface.

20. The furniture according to claim 16, characterized in that a columnar auxiliary leg is provided below all or a part of the storage section, the columnar auxiliary leg being connected and fixed to the underside of the bottom plate and being in contact with the floor surface so as to support the load applied from the bottom plate of the storage section onto the floor surface.

21. 17. The furniture according to claim 16, wherein all or a part of the storage compartment is divided into left and right compartments by a partition plate whose upper and lower ends are connected and fixed to the top and bottom panels of the storage compartment.

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