AU2019200352A1 - Modular plinth - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted, the modular plinth comprising two or more cross members that are each adapted to seat on the ground; a frame having an upper edge on which the cabinetry is mounted and wherein the frame is adapted to be movably mounted to each cross member; and a plurality of adjustable feet mounted internally of the frame and adapted to set a height of the frame relative to the two or more cross members for providing a level base when the modular plinth is positioned on uneven ground. la 36a 7 6a 6b 5 2b o0 3d 3c 3b 6a 7 6a Figure 1

Description

MODULAR PLINTH

Field of invention

The present invention relates to a modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted.

Background of invention

A plinth typically has a ladder frame formation that provides a level surface on which one or more cabinets can be mounted. It is often pre-fabricated in a workshop and constructed piece by piece on-site.

A plinth is created by first cutting various plinth members to size, based on the dimensions of the cabinet(s) to be mounted thereon, and taking into consideration any openings to be included for accommodating appliances. Once the members have been cut they are assembled together, using suitable fasteners, in the desired ladder frame formation.

Often the ground on which the plinth is to be mounted will be uneven and thus various corrections will need to be made to level the plinth. To level a plinth, a spirit level is run along the top edge, and levelling adjustments are made as required. For instance, packing pieces may be placed under the plinth for rectifying very minor sloping issues. However, this solution is unsightly and is not suitable where the slope is significant. Instead, a scribing tool may be used to scribe a level trim line (i.e. that mirrors the slope of the floor)

2019200352 18 Jan 2019 on the kickboard plinth members. The kickboard members are then cut to shape and the plinth is completely installed. It will be appreciated that the labour involved in measuring and cutting the various plinth members to accommodate for uneven ground can add a substantial cost to the build.

An increasingly common cabinetry solution that obviates the need for a plinth makes use of adjustable legs that are mounted on an under side of individual cabinet modules. Typically, the adjustable legs have a heigh adjustment mechanism that can be rotated to adjust the height of cabinet, thus allowing the modules to be levelled on an uneven surface without a plinth. However, the adjustable legs (and particularly the rear adjustable legs which may be located adjacent a wall) can be difficult to access and often the cabinets need to be turned on their side to suitably adjust the legs. It will be appreciated that it can be difficult to ascertain the correct level while the cabinets are on their side. There is also a risk that the cabinets will be scratched while on their side. Another downside to this solution is that the adjustable legs are exposed which negatively impacts on the overall aesthetic.

Further, the adjustable legs create an empty space between the floor and the cupboard, allowing dust and dirt to collect within this space which can be difficult to clean. A solution to this issue is to place a kickboard around the space created by the cupboard. However, as previously discussed, the kickboard would still need to be scribed and cut to accommodate for an uneven floor.

It would be advantageous if there was provided a cabinetry base system that obviated at least one of the aforementioned deficiencies.

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Summary of invention

In accordance with a first aspect there is provided a modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted, the modular plinth comprising: two or more cross members that are each adapted to seat on the ground; a frame having an upper edge on which the cabinetry is mounted and wherein the frame is adapted to be movably mounted to each cross member; and a plurality of adjustable feet mounted internally of the frame and adapted to set a height of the frame relative to the two or more cross members for providing a level base when the modular plinth is positioned on uneven ground.

In an embodiment the frame comprises a front and rear wall and wherein at least one adjustable foot is mounted to both the front and rear wall.

In an embodiment four adjustable feet are mounted within the frame between each cross member.

In an embodiment the plinth comprises an end cross member located at each end of the plinth.

In an embodiment the plinth comprises at least one intermediate cross member located between the two end cross members.

In an embodiment the front and rear walls extend the length of the plinth.

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In an embodiment the front and rear walls are joined at opposite ends by respective side walls and wherein the side walls are movably mounted to the end cross members.

In an embodiment the rear wall extends the length of the plinth and wherein the front wall comprises multiple front wall segments that are separated so as to create one or more frontal openings in the frame.

In an embodiment each front wall segment joined to the rear wall at their corresponding ends by respective side walls and wherein the side walls are movably mounted to the end cross members.

In an embodiment cut-outs at either end of each intermediate cross member extend below an upper edge thereof for slidingly receiving correspondingly shaped cut-outs in a lower edge of the front and rear wall for facilitating movement therebetween.

In an embodiment the cross members comprise a fascia receiving portion that extends beyond at least one of a front or rear wall of the frame for receiving a fascia element and wherein the fascia element has a lower edge for seating on the ground.

In an embodiment the fascia element is slidingly received between the adjacent pair of fascia receiving portions.

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In an embodiment the frame further comprises a channel adapted to receive a spacer portion with an axial hole, wherein the spacer portion remains in place when a tool is inserted into the axial hole.

In an embodiment the tool projects through the axial hole into one of the two or more cross members.

In accordance with a second aspect there is provided a modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted, the modular plinth comprising: an inner frame having an upper edge on which the cabinetry is mounted and wherein a height of at least a portion of the inner frame is adjustable relative to the ground via one or more adjustable feet mounted internally of the inner frame and which are adapted to seat on the ground, the height being adjustable for providing a level base when the inner frame is located on uneven ground; and one or more fascia panels which are adapted to seat on the ground and which at least partially surrounds the inner frame, the panel(s) being further adapted to secure to the inner frame by way of a securement arrangement.

Brief description of drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure. 1 is a top view of an adjustable plinth configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

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Figure. 2 is a perspective view of the adjustable plinth of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top view of an adjustable plinth configuration according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the adjustable plinth of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a clamping arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 6a and 6b are front and section views of intermediate cross members, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Figures 7 to 9 illustrate further example configurations of a modular plinth, according to embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed description

Embodiments of the invention described herein relate to a modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted. The modular plinth comprises two or more cross members that are adapted to sit on the ground, and a frame adapted to be movably mounted to each of the cross members. A plurality of adjustable feet are

2019200352 18 Jan 2019 mounted internally of the frame and used to adjust the height of the frame (relative to the cross members) for providing a level upper edge on which cabinetry can be mounted. One or more fascia panels may be coupled to the cross members for providing an undercabinet kick that follows the slope of the ground. A particular advantage of a plinth according to embodiments described herein is that it can be flat packed and assembled on site without any scribing or cutting required to provide a level surface on which cabinetry can be mounted.

Figures 1 and 2 depict a first embodiment of the modular plinth. As shown, the modular plinth (1a) comprises two cross members (2a, 2b) that each have a lower edge that sits on the ground. An inner frame (3) comprises a front wall (3a) and rear wall (3b) that are joined together by side walls (3c, 3d). In an embodiment, the walls (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) are joined to the joining walls (3c, 3d) using dowels. It will be appreciated, however, that the walls may be joined using finger joints, tongue and groove joins, cam lock/nuts, brackets, and/or any other suitable joining arrangement.

A plurality of adjustable feet (5) are mounted internally of the frame (3). The adjustable feet (5) allow the installer to fine tune the height adjustment and provide load bearing support for the cabinetry. More specifically, according to the illustrated embodiment, at least one adjustable foot (5) is mounted to both the front wall (3a) and rear wall (3b) on an inner surface thereof. According to the illustrated embodiment, four adjustable feet (5) are provided for readily adjusting the height of all four edges of the frame (3). The adjustable feet (5) may be formed of any suitable material and include any suitable height adjustment mechanism. By way of example, the feet (5) may comprise a telescopic leg that can be readily extended or retracted by turning a screw located at the top of the respective feet (i.e. before the cabinets are installed on the plinth).

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The frame (3) is movably mounted to the cross members (2a, 2b). More specifically, each of the side walls (3c, 3d) can move up or down with respect to the corresponding cross member (2a, 2b). Once a desired height has been achieved (i.e. for creating a level upper edge), a clamping arrangement (4) may be actuated for clamping the adjacent walls (2a, 3c; 2b, 3d) together.

The cross members (2a, 2b) each comprise a fascia receiving portion (6a) at either end that extends beyond the front and rear walls (3a, 3b). Each fascia receiving portion (6a) comprises at least one longitudinal channel (6b) that extends from a top edge to a bottom edge on an inwardly facing side and which is adapted to slidingly receive a fascia panel (7). More particularly, the fascia panels (7) are received between opposing longitudinal channels (6b) such that a lower edge of the fascia panel (7) sits on the ground. In use, according to the first embodiment, the fascia panels (7), together with the cross members (2a, 2b), serve as a kickboard which hides the internal frame (3) and adjustable feet (5). It will be understood that only one end of the cross members (2) may include the fascia receiving portions (6a) (as per the Figure 9 example).

An alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. It will be appreciated that the modular plinth (1b) of Figure 3 spans a longer length than the plinth (1a) of Figure 1 and includes an opening (e.g. for accommodating an appliance). According to the example configuration shown in Figure 3, the plinth comprises five cross members (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e) that are each adapted to sit on the ground. The modular plinth (1a) further comprises a rear wall (11a) and front wall portions (11b, 11c) that are separated by an opening.

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The front wall portion (11 b) is connected to the rear wall (11 a) by respective side walls (11c, 11 d), thereby forming a first enclosed frame portion (20). The front wall portion (11c) is joined to the rear wall (11a) by respective side walls (11e, 11f), thereby creating a second enclosed frame portion (22). The side walls (11c, 11 d, 11 e, 11f) are in turn movably mounted to corresponding end cross members (10a, 10c, 10d, 10e) in the same manner as described for the Figure 1 embodiment. The rear wall (11a) and front wall portion (11b) are movably mounted directly to intermediate cross member (10b), as will be described in more detail in subsequent paragraphs.

As for the Figure 1 embodiment, a plurality of adjustable feet (5) are mounted internally of the frame (11) and are used to adjust the height of frame portions relative to the stationary cross members (10a to 10e), as well as providing load bearing support for the cabinetry. As shown, six adjustable feet (5) are provided within the first enclosed/inner frame portion (20) for adjusting the height of each of the four corners and the two intermediate regions thereof. The smaller second enclosed frame portion (22) includes four adjustable feet (5). It will be understood that greater or fewer feet (5) may be provided, depending on how the load of the cabinetry is to be spread, the evenness of the ground, the length of the plinth, etc.

Each of the cross members (10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e) include a fascia receiving portion (6) at either end that extends beyond the inner frame wall. More particularly, end cross members (10a, 10e) include a single longitudinal channel (6b) on either end. End cross members (10c, 10d) include a single longitudinal channel on the ends adjacent the front wall portion (11b), while the end adjacent the rear wall (11a) includes a longitudinal channel (6a) on either side. Lastly, both ends of the intermediate cross member (10b) are provided with longitudinal channels on both side walls.

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Fascia panels (7) are slidingly received between each adjacent pair of longitudinal channels (6b) to create a kickboard which hides the front and rear walls (11a, 11b, 11 c) of the frame, while the end cross members (10a, 10e) serve as end kickboards. An advantage of the afore-mentioned cross member and frame configuration is that no scribing or cutting is required for creating a kickboard that sits relatively flush with the ground (even on an uneven surface). This is by virtue of the fact that the kickboard is made up of multiple shorter fascia panels (7) that can independently sit higher or lower than an adjacent panel, thereby accommodating for variances in slope.

An opening (14) between the enclosed frame portions (20, 22) is provided for receiving an appliance or item of furniture, such as a dishwasher, a bin, etc. It will be understood that the adjustable plinth may be configured to include any number of openings (14) of any desired shape, depending on the desired configuration.

With reference to Figure 5, there is shown a detailed view of the clamping arrangement (4) of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the invention. The clamping arrangement (4) comprises one or more vertically oriented longitudinal guide channels (30) disposed within the side wall (3). According to the illustrated embodiment, two guide channels (30) are disposed toward each end of the side wall (3). A guiding portion in the form of a spacer (31) is received within each channel (30). The spacer (31) has an axial hole (32) for receiving a screw (33). Once a desired height has been achieved, the screw (33) is inserted through the axial hole (32) from the inside of the frame and screwed into a predrilled hole disposed in an inner wall of the adjacent cross member (2a). A washer (34) prevents the head of the screw from entering the channel (30). The screw (33) is tightened until the side wall (3) and cross member (2a) are clamped together.

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With reference to Figure 6a, there is shown a detailed view of the intermediate cross member (10b) of Figure 3. As shown, the cross member (10b) comprises cut-outs (23) in the form of U-shaped notches at either end that extend below an upper edge (24). The notches (23) are adapted to slidingly receive correspondingly shaped notches in a lower edge (25) of the front and rear walls (11a, 11b, 11c - see Figure 3), thereby facilitating adjustable but constrained movement therebetween. Figure 6b shows an intermediate cross member (1 Oj) for receiving a front fascia panel only.

As shown in Figures 6a and 6b, the cross members (10b, 10j) each comprise a notched lower region (27) to increase the stability of the plinth, as well as allow them to readily sit on uneven surface.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate the modular plinth as described herein may take many different forms without departing from the nature of the invention. For example, depending on the desired configuration, the length of the front, rear and side walls may vary, the length and number of cross members may vary, the number of openings provided in the inner frame may vary, the number of adjustable feet may vary, the number and length of the fascia panels may vary, etc. By way of example, a plinth may comprise six cross members, where two cross members are end cross members and four cross members are intermediate cross members. Figure 7, 8 and 9 show additional example configurations (in top view) of a modular plinth (1c, 1 d, 1e, respectively) according to embodiments described herein.

As used herein, the term cabinetry will be understood as including any piece of furniture that reselembles a cabinet which may or may not have draws or doors. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the modular plinth may be levelled to receive a column where an item can be dispalyed rather than a box with draws or doors. The modular plinth

2019200352 18 Jan 2019 may also be adapted to receive other items such as fridges, washing machines, dish washers, televisions, bins, etc that do not depart from the nature of the invention.

It will be understood that a hieght of the fascia panels may vary along the length of the frame. A person skilled in the art would appreciate that the fascia element and frame walls can be of any height so long as they do not depart from the nature of the invention such that the fascia element is able to remain in the ground and the frame walls are able to be levelled.

The modular plinth can be formed of any materials, such as wood, plywood, bamboo, plastic, etc.

It will also be understood that the front and rear walls of the frame (11) may separated into multiple lengths that are joined using a suitable joining arrangement (e.g. finger joints, tongue and groove joins, cam lock/nuts, brackets). The joins are concealed behind the fascia panels (7) with inserted locating pieces or connectors. Thus, the modular plinth is not limited to the length of a sheet of material. Because it can be assembled on site, it is not limited to transport length restrictions.

In this specification, the word comprising is to be understood in its open sense, that is, in the sense of including, and thus not limited to its closed sense, that is the sense of consisting only of. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words comprise, comprised and comprises where they appear.

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The preceding description is provided in relation to several embodiments which may share common characteristics and features. It is to be understood that one or more features of any one embodiment may be combinable with one or more features of the other embodiments. In addition, any single feature or combination of features in any of the embodiments may constitute additional embodiments.

In addition, the foregoing describes only some embodiments of the inventions, and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.

Furthermore, the inventions have described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the inventions. Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments.

Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.

Claims (15)

1. Claims:

   1. A modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted, the modular plinth comprising:

   two or more cross members that are each adapted to seat on the ground;

   a frame having an upper edge on which the cabinetry is mounted and wherein the frame is adapted to be movably mounted to each cross member; and a plurality of adjustable feet mounted internally of the frame and adapted to set a height of the frame relative to the two or more cross members for providing a level base when the modular plinth is positioned on uneven ground.
2. 2. The modular plinth as in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a front and rear wall and wherein at least one adjustable foot is mounted to both the front and rear wall.
3. 3. The modular plinth as in claim 2, wherein four adjustable feet are mounted within the frame between each cross member.
4. 4. The modular plinth as in claim 2 or 3, wherein the plinth comprises an end cross member located at each end of the plinth.
5. 5. The modular plinth as in claim 4, wherein the plinth comprises at least one intermediate cross member located between the two end cross members.
6. 6. The modular plinth as in claim 4 or 5, wherein the front and rear walls extend the length of the plinth.

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7. 7. The modular plinth as in claim 6, wherein the front and rear walls are joined at opposite ends by respective side walls and wherein the side walls are movably mounted to the end cross members.
8. 8. The modular plinth as in claim 4 or 5, wherein the rear wall extends the length of the plinth and wherein the front wall comprises multiple front wall segments that are separated so as to create one or more frontal openings in the frame.
9. 9. The modular plinth as in claim 8, wherein each front wall segment joined to the rear wall at their corresponding ends by respective side walls and wherein the side walls are movably mounted to the end cross members.
10. 10. The modular plinth as in any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein cut-outs at either end of each intermediate cross member extend below an upper edge thereof for slidingly receiving correspondingly shaped cut-outs in a lower edge of the front and rear wall for facilitating movement therebetween.
11. 11. The modular plinth as in any preceding claim, wherein the cross members comprise a fascia receiving portion that extends beyond at least one of a front or rear wall of the frame for receiving a fascia element and wherein the fascia element has a lower edge for seating on the ground.
12. 12. The modular plinth as in claim 11, wherein the fascia element is slidingly received between the adjacent pair of fascia receiving portions.
13. 13. The modular plinth as in any preceding claim, wherein the frame further comprises a channel adapted to receive a spacer portion with an axial hole, wherein the spacer portion remains in place when a tool is inserted into the axial hole.

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14. 14. The modular plinth as in claim 13, wherein the tool projects through the axial hole into one of the two or more cross members.
15. 15. A modular plinth for providing a level base on which cabinetry can be mounted, the modular plinth comprising:

    an inner frame having an upper edge on which the cabinetry is mounted and wherein a height of at least a portion of the inner frame is adjustable relative to the ground via one or more adjustable feet mounted internally of the inner frame and which are adapted to seat on the ground, the height being adjustable for providing a level base when the inner frame is located on uneven ground; and one or more fascia panels which are adapted to seat on the ground and which at least partially surrounds the inner frame, the panel(s) being further adapted to secure to the inner frame by way of a securement arrangement.