AU2062800A - Curved panel - Google Patents

Description

P/00/01Il Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: 'Curved panel' The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: :6,C6, FMlWSYr.F7CENA7Pffl12ETlh'R7.2 CQ99061010.7 1 Curved Panel Field of the invention This invention relates to panels, and more particularly, panels for use in constructing walls, cupboards, built-in cupboards and the like.

Background of the invention Constructing internal partitioning, built-in cupboards, and other structures within a domestic building or other building is usually simplified if standard, prefabricated panels and other building elements can be employed in the structure. Where the design requires a non-standard wall configuration this generally necessitates the construction of the non-standard panel on site.

10 Not only is this time consuming and costly, but generally requires the employment of skilled workmen which would otherwise not be required if the standard prefabricated building elements were used.

The construction of curved structural panels is typically one of those tasks that requires fabrication on site. Accordingly, in many instances where it would be desirable to construct a 15 curved wall or end wall, this is not done, due to the added cost and time delays that will be S°caused by a feature of that nature.

Summary of the invention According to the invention there is provided a prefabricated panel for forming a wall, an end wall of a built-in cupboard, or other storage facility, said panel comprising a generally rectilinear panel having a top edge, a bottom edge, a back edge, and a front edge, the panel having a planar side section adjacent to the back edge, and a curved section adjacent to the front edge, the curved section being of part cylindrical shape defined by a generator which lies parallel to said front and back edges.

CQ99061010.7.

2 Preferably the curved section is of right circular cylindrical shape and curves through an angle of 900. Thus, the front edge and rear edge will be aligned at 900 to each other.

Preferably the panel is adapted to be used as an end wall for a built-in cupboard. In that arrangement the dimension of the panel as measured parallel to said planar side section between the back edge and the front edge is substantially the same as the width of a standard built-in cupboard. The height of the panel is preferably the floor to ceiling height of the structure within which the panel is to be used.

The front edge may have an elongate strip fitted thereto adapted to engage with the leading edge of a sliding door, or other closure arrangement.

10 Optionally the panel may by formed in two sections joined together along a hinge line which is parallel to said front and rear edges, the two sections being hingedly connected together so that one section is pivotable relative to the other along said hinge line.

*oo The invention extends to a method of constructing a curved panel, said method comprising the steps of: 15 providing at least two self supporting flexible sheets; 0 o• applying an adhesive material between the two sheets; placing the two sheets, with the adhesive sandwiched therebetween, is a press, the press having a curved configuration; operating the press to cause the sheets and adhesive to adopt a curved configuration, allowing the adhesive to cure, thereby causing the two sheets to retain their curved configuration; and removing the curved panel, so formed, from the press.

CQ99O61010.7, 3 Preferably the adhesive comprises an adhesive sheet. The adhesive may comprise a thermo adhesive and the press may be adapted to heat the adhesive in order to actuate same.

Alternatively the adhesive may comprise a pressure activated adhesive.

The flexible sheets are preferably comprised of flexible plywood although other types of flexible sheets are equally possible.

These and further features of the invention will be made apparent from the description of a preferred embodiment thereof given below by way of example. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, but the specific features shown in the drawings should not S. be construed as limiting on the invention.

10 Brief description of the drawings •coo Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a built-in cupboard having a curved panel according to the invention fitted to one end wall thereof; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the cupboard shown in figure 1; °Figure 3 shows a detailed plan view of the panel used to construct end wall of the cupboard depicted in figure 1; Figure 4 shows a detail of the strip fitted to the front edge of the panel to serve as a sliding door jamb for a sliding wardrobe door; Figure 5 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of panel according to the invention; and Figures 6 and 7 show details of a press which may be used for forming the panels of the invention.

CQ99061010.7, 4 Detailed description of the embodiments As shown in the drawings, a cupboard 10 is fitted into a corner of a room having walls 12 and 14 which are at right angles to each other. One end of the cupboard 10 butts up against the wall 12 whereas as at the opposite end of the cupboard is freestanding and is closed off by an end panel 16 of curved configuration which is constructed in accordance with the invention. The panel 16 will be described herein in detail.

The panel 16 has a rear edge 18, a front edge 20, a bottom edge 22, and a top edge 24. The top edge 24 will generally be covered by a cornice 26 to give the upper edge of the cupboard a neat, o well finished appearance.

S" 10 The panel itself has a generally planar side section 28 which is adapted to be perpendicular to S"the wall 14 against which it is in abutment. Furthermore, the panel includes a curved section which is adjacent to the front edge 20. The curved section 30 is preferably curved in a circular o••o arc 31, as shown clearly in figure 3. The circular arc 31 preferably extends through 900 so that Sthe front edge 20 is at right angles to the rear edge 18 thereby ensuring that the front edge provides an abutment face for sliding doors 32 which form the front face of the cupboard It will be appreciated that the curved section 30 is of part cylindrical configuration. The "generator" for that cylindrical shape is parallel to both the rear edge 18 and the front edge Typically the dimension would be approximately 630mm so that the panel 16 may be used as an end wall for a standard built-in cupboard. The dimension would be approximately 200mm to ensure that the wall adopts a generously rounded corner at the corner of the built-in cupboard. This appearance would, it is anticipated, be attractive in many situations, particularly in situations where there is limited space within a particular room and the curved front edge of a cupboard gives an appearance of a reduced cupboard size. In addition, the curved nature of the end wall of the cupboard provides an additional storage area, indicated by hatched lines 33 in CQ99061010.7 figure 2 within the cupboard 10 adjacent to end wall 16. An increased storage area is, it will be appreciated, obtained without significantly increasing the apparent size of the cupboard, and without increasing the widths of the doors 32.

It is important to note that the invention is not limited to the configuration of panel depicted in the drawings, and different panel shapes will be used for different applications or where a different aesthetic effect is required. For example, it may be desired to have the end wall of a cupboard at an angle other than 900 to the front face of the cupboard in which case the curved section of the panel will curve through an angle of either greater than, or less than, 90'. Also, where the cupboard is not in a corner of a room, both ends of the cupboard may have a curved 10 panel fitted thereto. Where the panel is used in an application other than a cupboard a *fee S completely different configuration of panel may be produced.

The panel 16 may be made of any suitable materials. Any standard finish may be applied to the 99..

panel so that the panel aesthetically matches with the remainder of the built-in cupboard.

A further advantage of the panel is the inherent rigidity of the curved panel. Obviously a flat panel has substantially no rigidity in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the panel. The 9. 99 curved panel, on the other hand, has significant structural rigidity and will add the overall stiffness of the cupboard. This is particularly important where sliding doors are used since the sliding door will close against the front edge of the panel and the added rigidity provided by the three dimensional form of the panel will provide added stiffness to the cupboard as a whole.

Turning to figure 4 of the drawings, a door jamb 34 is fitted to the front edge 20 of the panel 16, the door jamb has therefore been adapted to receive the leading edge of a sliding door 36 therein. The door jamb 34 includes a rearwardly facing channel formation 38 into which the front edge 20 of the panel 16 is nested, and a forwardly facing channel 40 into which the sliding door is received. Thus, the door jamb 34 provides a neatly finished end strip for the front edge CQ99061010.7 6 of the panel 16 and, simultaneously, provides a recess into which the leading edge of the sliding door 36 is received.

The hatched area 33 defined by the curved panel 16 could be accessible from the panel side of the cupboard by providing a door through the panel 16. As shown in figure 5, the panel may be formed in two sections, namely a rear section 40, and a front section 42 which are hinged together along hinge line 44 which is parallel to the rear edge 18 of the panel. As indicated in figure 5, the space 33 will be readily accessible when the panel 16 is open, shown by dotted lines 46, and inside the space 33 a series of hooks or other fixtures may be mounted to increase the usefulness of the space 33. The rear section 40 may be mounted to the wall 14 by a bracket 10 48.

*o o The panels may be formed using a press assembly 50 of the type shown in figures 6 and 7 of the drawings. Figure 6 shows the press 50 having a base section 52 and a upper section 54 which is pivotally connected to the base section 52 via a hinge 56. The two press sections 52 and 54 have mating curved faces 58 which serve to mould the panel into a curved form.

c* The preferred type of material for forming the curved panel is a flexible plywood of the type manufactured by Processed Forest Products of Granville NSW. That material is self supporting yet sufficiently flexible to adopt the curved form of panel indicated herein. To form a curved panel which holds its shape two sheets of flexible plywood are bonded together using a suitable adhesive material. It is found that a sheet adhesive material of the type manufactured by Advanced Adhesives, Riverstone NSW, described as HRW 200/400 is suitable for forming an appropriate bond between two sheets of flexible plywood. Two sheets of plywood with adhesive sheet sandwiched therebetween are placed in the press with press in an open condition.

Thereafter, the press is closed to the position shown in figure 7, heated if necessary, and the two CQ99061010.7 7 sheets are bonded together under pressure. Thereafter the adhesive is allowed to cure, thereby ensuring that the sheets hold the curved form described herein.

The procedure is relatively quick to carry out and, by changing the form of the press, different shapes of curve, and angles of curvature may be achieved. Thus, it is possible to form a range of different curved panel configurations which can be easily fitted to a structure as a standard building elements. Clearly if it is desired to form the panel in two sections, hinged together, this can be done by cutting a panel into two sections after it has been moulded, and then hinging the two panel sections together.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto, without departing from the scope of the present i invention.

9

Claims (13)

1. A prefabricated panel for forming a wall, an end wall of a built-in cupboard, or other storage facility, said panel comprising a generally rectilinear panel having a top edge, a bottom edge, a back edge and a front edge, the panel having a planar side section adjacent to the back edge, and a curved section adjacent to the front edge, the curved section being of part cylindrical shape defined by a generator which lies parallel to said front and back edges.

2. A prefabricated panel according to claim 1 wherein the curved section is right circular cylindrical shape and curves through an angle of 900. 10

3. A prefabricated panel according to either preceding claim wherein the panel comprises an end wall for a built-in cupboard.

4. A prefabricated panel according to claim 3 wherein the dimension of the panel measured parallel to said planar side section between the back edge and the front edge and substantially the same as a standard built-in cupboard.

5. A prefabricated panel according to any preceding claim wherein the front edge has an S •elongate strip fitted thereto adapted to engage with the leading edge of a sliding door.

6. A prefabricated panel according to any preceding claim wherein the panel is formed in two sections joined together along a hinge line which is parallel to said front and rear edges, the two sections being hingedly connected together so that one section is pivotable relative to the other section along said hinge line.

7. A method of constructing a curved panel, said method comprising the steps of: providing at least two self supporting flexible sheets; applying an adhesive material between the two sheets; CQ99061010.7 10 S 15 9 placing the two sheets, with the adhesive sandwiched therebetween, is a press, the press having a curved configuration; operating the press to cause the sheets and adhesive to adopt a curved configuration, allowing the adhesive to cure, thereby causing the two sheets to retain their curved configuration; and removing the curved panel, so formed, from the press.

8. A method of constructing a curved panel according to claim 7 wherein the adhesive comprises an adhesive sheet.

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the adhesive comprises a thermo-adhesive and the press is adapted to heat the adhesive in order to actuate same.

A method according to claim 7 wherein the adhesive is a pressure actuated adhesive.

11. A method according to claim 7 wherein the flexible sheets are comprised of flexible plywood.

12. A prefabricated panel substantially hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of constructing a prefabricated panel substantially hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.