Modular office furniture

Claim 1

Modular office furniture adapted for rapid and simple assembly and disassembly comprising a generally planar top module adapted for use as a table top and a desk surface, a pedestal module comprising a pedestal shell and a pedestal top for supporting said top module and quick-acting snap connecting means for securing said top module onto said pedestal module, said snap connecting means including a first component in the form of a pair of cylindrical locking rods and a second component in the form of at least two clips, each having a resilient mouth into which an associated rod is adapted to be snap-fit, said snap connecting means also comprising a respective pair of guide rings secured to each of said locking rods and spaced apart by the length of said clip to permit said clip to fit therebetween when said rod is within said clip mouth to prevent longitudinal relative movement between said rod and clip, one of said components being permanently secured to said top module and the other component being permanently secured to said pedestal module, with the module to which said locking rods are secured having two pairs of support members permanently secured thereto, each of said support members including a recess in which an end portion of a respective rod is disposed and permanently secured to fastening means, said support members serving to hold said rods parallel to but away from said module to facilitate the securement of said clips to said rods, said pedestal top including a flanged stop abutting an end of each of said rods to longitudinally position said rods with respect to said support members.