Jointed, interlocking knockdown furniture

A modular, knockdown furniture item adapted to be disposed upon a generally flat or horizontal supporting surface, the furniture comprising:

• a generally planar top adapted to be supported vertically above said surface;
• a plurality of generally C-shaped, planar, radially spaced apart legs, each leg comprising a lower foot for contacting said supporting surface, an integral upper arm for grasping said top, and an integral midsection of nonuniform width between said foot and said top;
• a generally planar lock adapted to be disposed between said surface and said top for captivating the legs and compressing them together, the lock comprising internal slots of predetermined dimensions through which the legs extend and in which said leg midsections are compressively captivated as the lock is pressed down;
• wherein each leg midsection of nonuniform width is formed between an outer wedging region comprising a ramp and an inner complimentary edge of each leg, the legs adapted to be aligned in assembly in mutually abutting relation with their complimentary edges compressively facing one another and with their ramps engaging opposite ends of the lock slots in which the legs are captivated, and wherein said leg midsections are compressed together in abutment when said lock is installed;
• wherein said lower feet diverge downwardly and outwardly away from said leg midsections a distance substantially greater than said predetermined slot dimensions and said upper arms diverge upwardly and outwardly away from said midsections a distance substantially greater than said predetermined slot dimensions, such that the dimensions of the assembled legs in vertical plan exceed the predetermined dimensions of said lock slots;
• wherein the arms comprise means for grasping the top, and said last mentioned means are drawn into engagement with said top in response to compression of said ramps within the slots of said lock;
• and wherein the leg midsections comprise ledges for seating the lock.

A modular, knockdown table item adapted to be disposed upon a generally flat or horizontal supporting surface, the table comprising:

• a generally planar top adapted to be supported vertically above said surface;
• a plurality of generally C-shaped, planar, radially spaced apart legs for supporting the table, each leg comprising a lower foot for contacting said supporting surface, an integral upper arm for grasping said top, and an integral intermediate region of nonuniform width between said foot and said top and comprising outer edges, and wherein each intermediate region comprises a wedging ramp;
• a generally planar lock adapted to be disposed between said surface and said top for captivating the legs and compressing them together, the lock comprising internal slots of predetermined dimensions through which the legs nonuniform width regions extend and by which said legs are compressively captivated as the lock is pressed down over said ramps, the legs adapted to be aligned in assembly in mutually abutting relation with their complimentary edges compressively facing one another and with their ramps engaging opposite ends of the lock slots in which the legs are captivated;
• and,
• wherein said lower feet diverge downwardly and outwardly away from said intermediate regions a distance substantially greater than said predetermined slot dimensions and said upper arms diverge upwardly and outwardly away from said intermediate regions a distance substantially greater than said predetermined slot dimensions, such that the dimensions of the assembled legs in vertical plan exceed the predetermined dimensions of said lock slots so the legs must be rotated by the assembler when fed through the lock slots.