1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a table, more particularly to a variable-length table which requires a minimum packaging volume to minimize transport costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional variable-length table is shown to comprise a leg assembly 1 and a tabletop assembly 2. The leg assembly 1 includes two upright leg units 11. Each leg unit 11 includes two leg posts 110. The tabletop assembly 2 includes two leg mounting boards 20, two guide beams 21, two connecting beam sets, two fixed tabletop units 23 and a removable tabletop unit 24.
Each leg mounting board 20 is mounted on one of the leg units 11 such that the leg posts 110 of the corresponding leg unit 11 are connected to a bottom surface of two end portions of the leg mounting board 20. Each guide beam 21 is mounted to a top surface of one of the end portions of each of the leg mounting boards 20. The guide beams 21 are transverse to the leg mounting boards 20 and are parallel to each other. A pinion 210 is mounted on a top surface of an intermediate portion of each guide beam 21. The connecting beams 22 of each connecting beam set are disposed respectively on two sides of a corresponding one of the guide beams 21 and are mounted slidably thereto. The connecting beams 22 in each of the connecting beam sets are provided with a respective rack 220 that meshes with the pinion 210 on the corresponding one of the guide beams 21. Each of the fixed tabletop units 23 includes a semi-circular board member 231 with a bottom surface mounted on a respective one of the connecting beams 22 of each of the connecting beam sets. The racks 220 on the connecting beams 22 and the pinions 210 on the guide beams 21 ensure simultaneous lateral movement of the connecting beams 22 of the connecting beam sets when the fixed tabletop units 23 are pushed toward each other to obtain a shorter table length or are pulled apart to obtain a longer table length. The removable tabletop unit 24 includes a rectangular board member 241 that is to be disposed removably between the fixed tabletop units 23 when the fixed tabletop units 23 are pulled apart so as to obtain the longer table length. A locking unit 25 is provided on the bottom surfaces of the fixed and removable tabletop units 23, 24 to secure the removable tabletop unit 24 to the fixed tabletop units 23 when the longer table length is obtained (see FIG. 2).
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the fixed tabletop units 23 further has a curved flange 230 that extends downwardly from the board member 231 for concealing the guide beams 21 and the connecting beams 22 of the connecting beam sets so as to enhance appearance of the table when the shorter table length is obtained. The removable tabletop unit 24 further has an opposite pair of flanges 240 that are mounted fixedly on and that extend downwardly from the board member 241. The flanges 240 cooperate with the flanges 230 of the fixed tabletop units 23 so as to conceal the guide beams 21 and the connecting beams 22 of the connecting beam sets when the longer table length is obtained.
As mentioned beforehand, the removable tabletop unit 24 is removed, and the fixed tabletop units 23 are pushed toward each other to obtain the shorter table length. Albeit a space (T) is formed between the top surface of the leg mounting boards 20 and the bottom surface of the board members 231 of the fixed tabletop units 23, the removable tabletop unit 24 cannot be concealed in the space (T) because the sum of the height of the flanges 240 and the thickness of the board member 241 is greater than the depth (t) of the space (T), thereby arising in a storage problem for the removable tabletop unit 24 when the shorter table length is in use.
As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional variable-length table is usually dismantled during transport to reduce the space occupied thereby. The fixed tabletop units 23 are pushed toward one another to obtain the shorter table length, the removable tabletop unit 24 is disposed on top of the fixed tabletop units 23, and the leg posts 110 are detached from the tabletop assembly 2 and are disposed in a U-shaped space that is confined by the removable tabletop unit 24. If the removable tabletop unit 24 can be concealed within the space (T), the packaging volume of the conventional variable-length table will be further reduced to result in lower transport costs.
It is noted that the height of the flanges 230, 240 may be reduced so that the sum of the height of the flanges 240 and the thickness of the board member 24 is less than or equal to the depth (t) of the space (T) in order to permit concealing of the removable tabletop unit 24 in the space (T). However, doing so would adversely affect the appearance of the table since the flanges 230, 240 will be incapable of concealing fully the guide beams 21 and the connecting beams 22 of the connecting beam sets. Alternatively, the depth (t) of the space (T) may be increased so that the removable tabletop unit 24 can be concealed in the latter. The appearance of the table is not adversely affected since the flanges 230, 240 still conceal fully the guide beams 21 and the connecting beams 22.