US20060081160A1

US20060081160A1 - Foamy stuffing element reinforced tabletop

Info

Publication number: US20060081160A1
Application number: US10/968,502
Authority: US
Inventors: Oliver Wang
Original assignee: Dimension Ind Co Ltd
Current assignee: DIMENSION INDUSTRIES Co Ltd; Dimension Ind Co Ltd
Priority date: 2004-10-19
Filing date: 2004-10-19
Publication date: 2006-04-20

Abstract

A foamy stuffing element reinforced tabletop is provided. The tabletop of the present invention is light in weight, unliable to deformation and resistant to acidic, basic, air and water ablations. The tabletop of the present invention includes a plastic plate and a plastic supporting frame. A free space is formed on the plastic supporting frame for filling therein a foamy stuffing element. The plastic plate and the plastic supporting frame in one particular embodiment is made of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP), while the foamy stuffing element is made of expandable polystyrene (EPS).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a tabletop, and more particularly to a tabletop that is reinforced with foamy stuffing element.
2. Related Art
Tabletops are generally made of woods. However, wood tabletops can not sustain to acidic, basic, air or water ablations. Therefore, tabletops, especially those for outdoor uses, are now made of other materials such as plastic or metallic materials.
Since plastic materials are light in weight and sustainable to ablations, tabletops for outdoor uses are mostly made of plastic materials now. However, tabletops made of bulky plastic materials are still too heavy in weight, especially for those portable tables. Consequently, tabletops with hollow supporting frames have been developed. In order to maintain the same supporting strength of the tabletops with hollow holes, some metallic tubes are added to the hollow supporting frames to reinforce the tabletops. Nevertheless, such kind of tabletops is still too heavy in weight. In order to further reducing the overall weight of a tabletop and yet maintaining the supporting strength, new tabletops need to be developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the present invention is to provide a tabletop for outdoor uses that is light in weight and yet maintaining its supporting strength.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a tabletop for outdoor uses that is resistant to acidic, basic, air and water ablations.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a tabletop for outdoor uses that is unliable to deformation.
According to the above and other objectives, the tabletop of the present invention comprises a plastic plate and a plastic supporting frame. A free space is formed on the plastic supporting frame for filling therein a foamy stuffing element. The plastic plate and the plastic supporting frame in one particular embodiment is made of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP), while the foamy stuffing element is made of expandable polystyrene (EPS). In contrast to the conventional tabletops that employ metallic tubes, the tabletop of the present invention employs the foamy stuffing element, which is much lighter in weight but can still maintain the supporting strength of the entire tabletop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tabletop of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENTS

The novel features of the present invention are hereinafter described in detail by incorporating with the accompanying drawings. However, it is appreciated that the accompanying drawings are provided only for the convenience of illustration and description, no limitation is intended thereto.
Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a tabletop 1 of the present invention is illustrated. As shown, the tabletop 1 comprises a plastic plate 10 and a plastic supporting frame 20. The plastic supporting frame 20 is covered on and combined to the plastic plate 10. The plastic plate 10 and the plastic supporting frame 20 are both made of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) material. The plastic supporting frame 20 comprises a mesh skeleton 21 and a circular rim 22. The circular rim 22 surrounds the mesh skeleton 21 and defines the shape of the tabletop 1. The mesh skeleton 21 has a hollow hole 23 formed at the center portion of the mesh skeleton 21 and a plurality of fastening holes 211 formed on the mesh skeleton 21. The plastic plate 10 has a through hole (not shown) formed at the center portion thereof corresponding to the hollow hole 23 of the plastic supporting frame 20 for installing an umbrella therein. The fastening holes 211 of the plastic supporting frame 20 are provided for installing at least a supporting leg (not shown) to the tabletop l.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 is illustrated. As shown, the mesh skeleton 21 and the circular rim 22 are made to form a free space between the plastic plate 10 and the plastic supporting frame 20 so as to fill therein a foamy stuffing element 30 for reinforcing the supporting strength of the tabletop 1. The free space can be formed by means of press molding, for example. The foamy stuffing element 30 in this particular embodiment is chosen to be the expandable polystyrene (EPS). In addition, the plastic supporting frame 20 further comprises a wooden block 213 and a fastening nut 212. The fastening nut 212 is embedded in the wooden block 213 and is aligned with each fastening hole 211. The wooden block 213 and the fastening nut 212 incorporating with the fastening hole 211 forms a fastening member of the plastic supporting frame 20. In this particular embodiment, the fastening nut 212 can be a square nut, a hex nut or nuts of any possible form.
Referring again to FIG. 2, the tabletop 1 further comprises a coloring layer 40 adhered to one surface of the plastic plate 10 opposite to that of the plastic supporting frame 20 through an adhesive layer 50. In this particular embodiment, the coloring layer 40 is a stone mimic coloring layer; while in other embodiments, the coloring layer 40 can be any layer of a particular decorative design.
Since the FRP material selected to make the tabletop 1 of the present invention is resistant to acidic, basic, air and water ablations, the tabletop 1 of the present invention has a longer life cycle. On the other hand, the free space formed on the plastic supporting frame 20 is filled with the EPS material, which largely reduces the overall weight of the tabletop 1 of the present invention than those conventional tabletops employing metallic tubes. In addition, since the tabletop 1 of the present invention is reinforced by using the foamy stuffing element 30, no deformation is observed when using the tabletop 1 of the present invention under an outdoor temperature of 45° C., according to the experiment. Moreover, since all the materials selected to make the tabletop 1 of the present invention are uninflammable, the tabletop 1 of the present invention is safe in case of fire accident.
Since, any person having ordinary skill in the art may readily find various equivalent alterations or modifications in light of the features as disclosed above, it is appreciated that the scope of the present invention is defined in the following claims. Therefore, all such equivalent alterations or modifications without departing from the subject matter as set forth in the following claims is considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tabletop for outdoor uses, comprising:

a plastic plate having a through hole formed at the center thereof;

a plastic supporting frame covering the plastic plate, the plastic supporting frame including a mesh skeleton and a circular rim surrounding the mesh skeleton, the mesh skeleton having a hollow hole and a plurality of fastening holes, the hollow hole being formed at the center portion of the mesh skeleton incorporating with the through hole of the plastic plate for installing an umbrella, the fastening holes of the plastic supporting frame being provided for installing at least a supporting leg to the tabletop, wherein a free space is formed on the mesh skeleton facing the plastic plate; and

a foamy stuffing element filled in the free space of the plastic supporting frame for reinforcing the supporting strength of the tabletop.

2. The tabletop as recited in claim 1, further comprising a coloring layer adhered on one surface of the plastic plate opposite to that of the plastic supporting frame through an adhesive layer.

3. The tabletop as recited in claim 1, wherein the plastic supporting frame further comprising a plurality of fastening members, each fasting member being installed in the free space of the mesh skeleton corresponding each fastening hole.

4. The tabletop as recited in claim 3, wherein each fastening member comprises a wooden block and a fastening nut.

5. The tabletop as recited in claim 4, wherein the fastening nut is embedded in the wooden block and aligned with the fastening hole of the mesh skeleton for installing a supporting leg therein.

6. The tabletop as recited in claim 1, wherein the plastic plate and the plastic supporting frame are made of fiberglass reinforced plastic.

7. The tabletop as recited in claim 1, wherein the foamy filling member is made of expandable polystyrene.

8. A foamy stuffing element reinforced tabletop for outdoor uses, comprising:

a fiberglass reinforced plastic plate having a through hole formed at the center thereof;

a fiberglass reinforced plastic supporting frame covering the fiberglass reinforced plastic plate, the fiberglass reinforced plastic supporting frame including a mesh skeleton and a circular rim surrounding the mesh skeleton, the mesh skeleton having a hollow hole and a plurality of fastening holes, the hollow hole being formed at the center portion of the mesh skeleton incorporating with the through hole of the plastic plate for installing an umbrella, wherein a free space is formed on the mesh skeleton and the circular rim, which is sandwiched between the fiberglass reinforced plastic plate and the fiberglass reinforced supporting frame;

a plurality of fastening member disposed in the free space of the fiberglass reinforced supporting frame, each of which corresponds to the fastening holes and each comprising a wooden block and a fastening nut, the fastening nut being embedded in the wooden block and aligned with the fastening hole for installing therein a plurality of supporting legs;

a foamy stuffing element filled in the free space of the plastic supporting frame for reinforcing the supporting strength of the tabletop; and

a coloring layer adhered on one surface of the fiberglass reinforced plastic plate opposite to that of the fiberglass reinforced plastic supporting frame through an adhesive layer.

9. The tabletop as recited in claim 8, wherein the foamy stuffing element is made of expandable polystyrene.