EP1407692B1

EP1407692B1 - Wedge

Info

Publication number: EP1407692B1
Application number: EP03022093A
Authority: EP
Inventors: David Christopher Sandeman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-10-10
Filing date: 2003-10-02
Publication date: 2006-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2023-10-02
Also published as: ES2269891T3; EP1407692A1; ATE333817T1; GB2393902A; DE60307010T2; GB2393902B; US20040068830A1; HK1067285A1; GB0223522D0; DE60307010D1

Abstract

The wedge has a wedge-part (D) shaped and dimensioned to allow it to be placed between the undersurface of the foot of the leg and the floor. The barbed wedge strap-part (A) is flexible and can be wrapped around the leg and detachably attached to it. In use, the wedge can be secured to the leg on a permanent or strictly temporary basis whilst being detachable from it as needed. The wedge-part can be employed as and when needed. The wedge part is composed of material which is sufficiently deformable but resilient enough to allow its suitability. The strap part may be integral with the wedge part, or be fixedly attached to it.

Description

This invention relates to wedges, and is particularly concerned with a wedge for steadying a table or like piece of furniture.
A common problem with tables, eg. in restaurants, is caused by the fact that they are often placed on uneven floor surfaces, so that, in use, they often rock or wobble.
At present, the restaurant, pub and hotel trade currently uses various items to prevent a table from rocking, eg. a folded paper table napkin, a book of matches, a business card or a cork. All of these are difficult to put in position, and are often ineffective as they are readily detached from the position in which they secure the table or like piece of furniture from rocking or wobbling, and in some cases the temporary expedients used are unhygienic and/or unsightly. In any event, such temporary expedients involve a cost element since members of staff are normally called upon to deal, for example, with a table in a restaurant which is causing trouble. Furthermore, customers are often irritated by the very fact that they have been put at an unsatisfactory table, by the need to address staff to put the matter right, and by the delay which often occurs when busy staff have other things on their minds.
US Patent no. 6,290,294 shows and describes an anti-rocking safety kit for converting or stabilizing rocking devices. The kit comprises a pair of wedge-shaped safety blocks each having a strap to hold it in place when placed over a leg of a rocking chair. In one version, the straps are shown as being adjustable by means of a buckle. However, the safety blocks are solid and the straps would not hold the blocks to a table leg, for example.
I have sought to remedy the wobbly table problem as follows :
The solution I propose for solving this problem is to provide a wedge device for use with the legs of tables or like furniture to prevent rocking or wobbling in use composed of a resilient material such as a natural and/or synthetic elastomeric material, eg. a rubber or rubber-like material. The wedge part has a strap in the form of an L whose arm adjacent to the wedge part is arranged in use to project substantially vertically upwards from the wedge part, and whose free arm forms a strap having a series of ratchets permitting it to be adjustably yet firmly attached to the leg of the furniture to hold the device in place.
The present invention thus contemplates a wedge-part shaped and dimensioned to allow it to be placed between the undersurface at the foot of the leg to be supported and the surface of the floor. In use, the wedge can be secured to the leg on a permanent or temporary basis whilst being detachable therefrom. As mentioned above it is composed of a deformable but resilient material. The wedge and the strap are preferably formed in one piece so that the two parts of the wedge device constitute an entire whole, as shown, for example, in the accompanying drawing.
The wedge device preferably has a strap of L-shaped form and is flexible to allow the said longer part or free end to be wrapped around a leg to secure the wedge to the leg and the part adjacent to the foot of the wedge allowing it to be tied to the leg above its foot, the wedge part being shaped to perform the wedging function.
The strap-part of the wedge may be provided with arrow- or barb-shaped protuberances along the length thereof and the right-angled join between the two parts of the L may be provided with an aperture therein for receiving said strap-shaped part when the latter has been wrapped around a leg and it is desired to secure the wedge in position, the arrows or barbs on the strap preventing the latter from being unsecured by mistake but being resilient to allow withdrawal of the strap from said aperture to release the wedge.
In practice, the wedge is generally composed of a high friction rubber or rubber-like material to permit the wedge to carry out its wedging function whilst allowing the strap-part of the wedge to be detachably secured to the leg.
The solution provided by the invention is a quick and tidy way of stabilizing a table situated on an uneven floor in order to prevent it from rocking or wobbling.
For a better understanding of the invention reference is now made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one constructional form of table wedge according to the invention; and
Fig. 2 is a corresponding side elevation.

The table wedge shown in the drawings is in the shape of an "L", the body A of the L-shaped wedge being provided with a series of protuberances integral therewith and in the shape of arrow heads or barbs E, and the foot B of the wedge shown vertically in Fig. 1 having an enlargement D at its free outer end which is wedge-shaped in order to fulfill the purposes of the illustrated wedge (see the side elevation constituting Fig. 2). An aperture F is formed in the joining part C linking the parts A and B of the wedge at the right angle of the L.
The illustrated wedge may be composed of a variety of elastomeric materials which are resilient enough to accept slight deformation when the wedge is in use whilst exerting outward pressure on the surfaces contacted by the wedge-shaped outer extremity D of the part B of the wedge. In a preferred form, the wedge is composed of a high friction rubber or rubber-like material to aid grip between the wedge and the contacting surfaces, for example, on the underside of a table leg and the floor on which the table is located, respectively. The longer part A of the wedge is sufficiently flexible to allow this strap-like part to be wrapped around a table leg for example and to be stretched, at least to some extent. In a preferred mode, the part A can be stretched up to 100% of its natural length.
When the illustrated wedge is used, the strap part A is wrapped around the leg to a desired extent and the free end G of the part A is passed through the aperture F at C. The barb-like protuberances E of the strap part A retain the latter securely in position so that the wedge cannot be readily displaced in error, but allow the wedge to be removed when needed. The wedge part D is positioned when needed between the foot of the table leg and the floor on which the leg is supported. When necessary, eg. for cleaning purposes, the wedge is simply removed by pulling the part D away from its wedging location and drawing out the strap part A of the wedge through the aperture F in the part C against the resistance of the barbs E. The wedge is then free and can be removed as desired and replaced when needed It is recommended that wedges in accordance with the invention should be fitted to adjacent legs of a table so as to overcome any problems occasioned by rocking or wobbling of the table making it unstable.
The wedge of the invention has a number of advantages over the known prior art. Thus, the strap A fits any table leg in common use and the wedge part D will fill any gap between 4mm and 13mm, being infinitely adjustable within that range. Where needed, wedges fitting larger or smaller gaps may be provided. The insertion of the wedge in position can be rapidly and easily effected as can its removal. No tools are required or special skills, and, as mentioned above, the wedge or wedges are readily removable so as to be themselves cleaned or so as to allow cleaning of the room in which they are employed and its furniture.
When the table is moved about the room, the wedge secured to a table leg follows and is not lost. It also cannot be swept up or vacuumed up during cleaning. The use of the wedge is so simple and trouble-free that the wedge can be operated by the customer himself/herself who can replace the wedge without problems if the table is accidentally moved in such manner as to displace the wedge or wedges from their locking positions. Customers will become aware of, and appreciate, the unified way in which this known problem has been resolved. Furthermore, although the wedge of the invention has a particular application, for instance, in pubs. hotels or restaurants, the wedge of the invention is not limited to such locations but may also be usefully employed in the home or in the office.
Amongst the features of the invention in its preferred form, the use of a stretchable rubber strap to fit legs of various dimensions, the use of a 'barb' design so as to achieve secure fastening of the strap and hence the wedge to the table leg and the combination of the functions of the wedge-shaped part and the strap-part of the wedge, which solves at once two problems currently facing the present state of the art, namely, the need for secure wedging and the loss of temporary wedges, as an inevitable feature of conditions in a pub., hotel or restaurant, are all features of the invention which are of value and are not presently part of the state of the art.

Claims

A wedge device for use with the legs of tables or like furniture to prevent rocking or wobbling in use, the device comprising a tapered wedge part D intended to be positioned between the foot of the leg to be supported and the surface of the floor, the wedge part D having a strap A,B for holding it in place with respect to the furniture when in use, characterized in that the strap A,B is in the form of an L whose arm B adjacent to the wedge part D is arranged in use to project substantially vertically upwards from the wedge part D, and whose free arm A forms a strap having a series of ratchets E permitting it to be adjustable yet firmly attached to the leg of the furniture.
A wedge device as claimed in claim 1 in which the strap is formed of a resilient, elastomeric material so that in use once attached to a leg of a piece of furniture the resilience of the strap A,B holds the device firmly in place.
A wedge device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 which is composed of a high friction rubber, rubber-like or like elastomeric material, the material of the wedge being sufficiently deformably resilient to allow the wedge-partD to carry out its wedging function without the supported leg sliding off the wedge part D.