US-12616297-B2 - Hard and frangible material tabletop system

Abstract

An outdoor table is provided. The table includes a substantially horizontal top structure forming a top surface of the table, having a longest dimension of at most 2300 mm and a shortest dimension of at least 380 mm, and having a substantially uniform thickness of between 3 mm and 20 mm; a metal frame supporting the top structure, where the dimensions of the frame are substantially congruent with, but smaller than, those of the top structure, and comprising at least three penetrations in the bottom of that frame to provide attachment to table legs; at least three table legs; and a binder applied to a top surface of the metal frame, or to the underside of the top structure, opposite to a top surface of the metal frame or both, wherein the top structure is adhered to the frame using only the binder, and where no penetrations are made in the top structure for the attachment of the frame or table legs thereto.

Inventors

• Marshall Mullins

Assignees

• AGIO INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240430

Claims (7)

1. 1 . An outdoor table comprising: a substantially horizontal top structure forming a top surface of the table, having a longest dimension of at most 2300 mm and a shortest dimension of at least 380 mm, and having a substantially uniform thickness of between 3 mm and 20 mm; a metal frame supporting the top structure, where the dimensions of the frame are substantially congruent with those of the top structure, and comprising at least three penetrations in the bottom of that frame to provide attachment to table legs; at least three table legs; and a binder applied only to a top surface of a rim of the metal frame, or to the underside of the top structure, opposite to the top surface the rim of the metal frame or both, wherein the top structure is adhered to the rim of the frame using only the binder, and where no penetrations are made in the top structure for the attachment of the frame or table legs thereto.
2. 2 . The outdoor table according to claim 1 , wherein the horizontal top structure is natural or man-made stone.
3. 3 . The outdoor table according to claim 2 , wherein the horizontal top structure is selected from the group consisting of stone, sintered stone, granite, quartz, marble, clay, slate, tile, porcelain, ceramic and cement.
4. 4 . The outdoor table according to claim 1 , wherein the binder is a resin selected from the group consisting of unsaturated polymer resins, vinyl resins and an epoxy resins.
5. 5 . The outdoor table according to claim 1 , wherein the metal frame is formed from aluminum, steel and iron.
6. 6 . The outdoor table according to claim 1 , wherein dimensions of the metal frame are greater than dimensions of the top structure of the top surface of the table to form a captured rim.
7. 7 . The outdoor table according to claim 1 , wherein dimensions of the metal frame are smaller than dimensions of the top structure of the top surface of the table.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional No. 63/547,787 filed Nov. 8, 2023, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to a thin, hard and frangible material (e.g., stone) tabletop system. BACKGROUND Sintered stone or porcelain tabletops have become popular for indoor and outdoor use. More recently, for aesthetics and in order to save cost and shipping weight, very thin tabletops of these materials have been developed. Unlike wood tabletops and thicker stone or porcelain tops, in which wood or mechanical screws may be used to attach the tabletop structure to a frame, tabletops made from thin, hard and frangible materials, have limitations. One limitation is that it is difficult to drill into these thin, hard and frangible materials, and such drilling may cause permanent cracks or fracture the tabletop entirely. One way of overcoming this limitation has been to glue a plywood sheet to the tabletops and then drill any attachment screws only into the plywood. This has its own limitations in that plywood is often unsightly, and if the table is used outdoors, the plywood tends to warp and/or rot faster than the tabletop material. Further, the extra weight of the plywood diminishes the weight savings achieved by using a thin material to make the tabletop. Thus a better tabletop system for tables made from a thin, hard and frangible materials like sintered stone or porcelain is desirable. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides an outdoor table including a substantially horizontal top structure forming the top surface of the table, having a longest dimension of at most 2200 mm and a shortest dimension of at least 380 mm, and having a substantially uniform thickness of between 3 mm to 20 mm. A metal frame may support such top structure, where the dimensions of the frame are substantially congruent with, but smaller than, those of the top structure. The frame may include at least three penetrations in the bottom of that frame to provide attachment to table legs. A binder may be applied only to the rim of the metal frame wherein the top structure is adhered to the rim so that no penetrations are made in the top structure for the attachment of the frame and/or table legs thereto. In another embodiment, the dimensions of the frame are greater than those of top structure and provide a captured rim around the perimeter of the top structure. The features and advantages described in this disclosure and in the following detailed description are not all-inclusive. Many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter; reference to the claims is necessary to determine such inventive subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aforementioned features and other features and objects of the present disclosure and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent, and the disclosure itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of one or more embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B illustrate plan views of an example a metal frame and a top structure, respectively, of an outdoor table, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a binder being applied to the metal frame, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top structure attached to the metal frame, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of a finished table with legs supporting the tabletop, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the finished table shown in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom view of the finished table shown in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the finished table shown in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 8 illustrates an end view of the finished table shown in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the finished table shown in FIG. 4 taken along line AA of FIG. 7, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The foregoing and other aspects of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with respect to the description and methodologies provided herein. It should be appreciated that the disclosure can be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth her