US 6,112,674 · Granted 2000-09-05
The Folding Table Patent That Made Portable Furniture Stable
This patent describes a folding table that stays rock-solid when you set it up, even though its legs fold down flat. The trick is a clever center support system where two braces meet in the middle under the table top, locking everything into place like an X-brace. It's the engineering behind tables that collapse small but feel sturdy when you're eating dinner on them.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a specific mechanical design for a folding table where two support pedestals attach to the table top and connect via pivoting braces that meet at a central retaining assembly. What's protected here is the geometry of how those braces fold and lock together—specifically, the way two braces can swing down and their distal ends converge at a single point where a cross-brace member pins them together. Anyone making a portable table with this exact two-pedestal-converging-brace system would need a license.
Why it matters
This patent matters because portable folding tables are manufactured and sold by the millions every year for camping, events, and storage. A smart center-support design makes the difference between a table that wobbles and one that feels as stable as a permanent fixture. For a company like Lifetime Products, Inc., patents like this one protect their manufacturing investment and let them build a market position in an otherwise commoditized category where durability and stability drive brand loyalty.
Real-world use
When you unfold a lightweight folding table at a tailgate party or picnic and it doesn't wobble even with plates and drinks on it, you're experiencing the engineering this patent locked down—the crisscross braces meeting at the center under the table top.
Original USPTO abstract
A pivotable folding utility table includes a table top having a pair of support pedestals pivotally attached thereto. A first pivotal support brace, which includes a proximal end and a distal end, is attached at its proximal end to the first support pedestal. A second pivotal support brace, which includes a proximal end and a distal end, is attached at its proximal end to the second support pedestal. The distal ends of the first and second pivotal support braces are adapted to be pivotally attached to a retaining assembly, mounted in relation to the table top. The distal ends of each pivotal support brace are disposed contiguously in relation to each other when engaging the retaining assembly. Specifically, the retaining assembly includes a cross-brace member operably disposed through openings formed in the distal ends of the first and second pivotal support braces, thus providing a pivotal engagement in relation to the table top.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,112,674
- Filing date
- 1999-01-11
- Grant date
- 2000-09-05
- Assignee
- Lifetime Products, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- STANFORD; CARL R.
- CPC class
- A47B3/0912
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