Article of furniture

Claim 2

An article of furniture comprising a load bearing top platform, a molded plastic base having a socket therein opening toward said platform, a column assembly having an upper end connected to said platform and a lower end engaged on said base at said socket, and means detachably connecting said column lower end within said socket, said column including a molded plastic body having a shoulder at its lower end, metal reinforcing means in said molded plastic body having a portion projecting beyond the lower end of said body and extending into said base socket, said body shoulder engaging with said base socket adjacent said socket opening and said projecting portion of said reinforcing means engaging with said socket adjacent its bottom to resist lateral forces on said column from asymmetric loading on said top platform.

Claim 3

The article of furniture of claim 1 wherein said molded plastic body is high impact polystyrene foam molded about said metal reinforcing means, and said metal reinforcing means is formed with a shoulder engaging on said molded plastic body adjacent its upper end.

Claim 4

The article of furniture of claim 1 wherein said top platform and column assembly connection includes a depending sleeve attached to said top platform and sized to extend into said column assembly and engaged with said metal reinforcing means, and said metal reinforcing means is formed with a socket adjacent the upper end of said column assembly to slidably receive said depending sleeve.

Claim 5

The article of furniture of claim 1 wherein said molded plastiC body has a second shoulder at its lower end sized to fit within and engage the interior of said socket opening, said projecting portion of said reinforcing means abuts with said socket adjacent its bottom, and said detachable connecting means engages said socket at its bottom and prevents column rotation.

Claim 6

In a pedestal stand having a load bearing top platform, a column supporting said top platform, and a base engaged by said column, the improvement of a socket in said base having a conical wall smaller in diameter adjacent its bottom and a shoulder at its open top end, reinforcing sleeve means in said column having a bottom projecting portion extending into said conical socket and engaged with said conical wall adjacent its bottom, said column having a shoulder surrounding said reinforcing sleeve and sized to match said socket shoulder, and means detachably connecting the projecting portion of said projecting sleeve portion to the bottom of said socket and drawing said column shoulder into abutment with said socket shoulder.

Claim 7

In a pedestal stand having a load bearing top platform, a column supporting said top platform, and a base engaged by said column, the improvement of a socket in said base having a conical wall smaller in diameter adjacent its bottom and a shoulder at its open top end, reinforcing sleeve means in said column having a bottom projecting portion extending into said conical socket and engaged with said conical wall adjacent its bottom, said column having a shoulder surrounding said reinforcing sleeve and sized to match said socket shoulder, and means detachably connecting the projecting portion of said projecting sleeve portion to the bottom of said socket and drawing said column shoulder into abutment with said socket shoulder.

Claim 8

The improvement of claim 5 wherein said means connecting said column sleeve projecting portion to the bottom of said socket includes spaced threaded prongs extending through said socket bottom to prevent turning of said column relative to said base.

Claim 9

The improvement of claim 5 wherein said column is formed with a protuberence on said shoulder sized to extend into the open top of said socket and bear against the conical wall.

Claim 10

The improvement of claim 5 wherein said reinforcing sleeve is formed with a shoulder spaced from said bottom projecting portion and engaging with said column.

Claim 11

The improvement of claim 5 wherein said one of said column and socket shoulders is formed with spaced projections to bite into the other of said shoulders to maintain said shoulders in alignment.

Claim 12

An article of furniture comprising a load bearing top platform, a molded plastic base having a socket therein with an open top and a side wall tapering to a small end at the bottom of the socket, a column assembly being a molded plastic member with a metallic sleeve embedded therein and having an upper end formed as a socket and a lower end extending into said base socket and formed with a shoulder upwardly from the lower end in position engaging on the open top of the socket, a top platform connected means engaged in said upper end socket, the lower end extending into and engaging the base socket adjacent the bottom thereof, and detachable means connecting said lower end of the column assembly within said base socket to retain said column shoulder abutted on said socket open top and said opposite end portion engaged in said base socket to resist lateral forces on said column assembly from asymmetric loading on said top platform.

Claim 13

An article of furniture comprising a load bearing top platform, a molded plastic base having a socket therein with an open top and a side wall tapering to a small end at the bottom of the socket, a column assembly being a molded plastic member with a metallic sleeve embedded therein and having an upper end formed as a socket and a lower end extending into said base socket and formed with a shoulder upwardly from the lower end in position engaging on the open top of the socket, a top platform connected means engaged in said upper end socket, the lower end extending into and engaging the base socket adjacent the bottom thereof, and detachable means connecting said lower end of the column assembly within said base socket to retain said column shoulder abutted on said socket open top and said opposite end portion engaged in said base socket to resist lateral forces on said column assembly from asymmetric loading on said top platform.