Apparatus for linking articles of furniture

A linking apparatus for linking two articles of furniture, each article of furniture including a frame with a hollow beam, each having a width and each configured and arranged to abut each other at an outer face thereof when the articles of furniture are linked, the abutting beams having a combined width, the apparatus comprising:

• a linking assembly including;
• a support member including an elongated first plate and a first wing extending from one end of said plate, said first wing including a first flange at an end thereof opposite said first plate, said first flange including a first hook portion projecting inward from the first wing and overlapping said first plate, said first hook defining a first groove between the first wing and the first hook portion, said first plate including a first hinge portion extending from an end opposite said first wing;
• a lever member including an elongated plate with an end hinge portion defined at one end of the plate, a manually engageable tab at an end of said plate opposite said end hinge portion, and an intermediate hinge portion between said end hinge portion and said tab, wherein said intermediate hinge portion of said lever member is pivotably engaged to said hinge portion of said support member so that said lever member can pivot relative to said support member;
• and
• a latch member including an elongated second plate and a second wing extending from one side of said second plate, said second wing including a second flange at an end thereof opposite said second plate, said second flange including a second hook portion projecting inward from the second wing and overlapping said second plate, said second hook defining a second groove between the second wing and the second hook portion, said second plate including a second hinge portion at an end opposite said second wing, wherein said second hinge portion is pivotably engaged to said end hinge portion of said lever member so that said latch member can pivot relative to said lever member,
• wherein said lever member is configured so that when the lever member is in an open position, the first and second elongated plates are non-coplanar and a first distance between said first wing and said second wing is greater than a combined width of said hollow beams of said two articles of furniture, and
• wherein said lever member is configured so that when the lever member is in a closed position, the first and second elongated plates are substantially coplanar and a second distance between said first wing and said second wing is substantially equal to said combined width of said hollow beams;
• and
• each hollow beam including a link engagement opening defined in an inner face thereof, said inner face opposite the abutting outer face of the corresponding beam, said link engagement opening of each beam including a center opening sized to receive a corresponding one of said first and second wings therein and a linking slot in communication with said center opening, said linking slot having a width sized to slidably receive a corresponding one of said first and second flanges therein with a bottom edge of said linking slot disposed within the corresponding first and second groove.