AU684097B2 - Vanity top - Google Patents

Description

II I

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT

C

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s) Address for Service: Invention Title: FLAIR INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS PTY

LIMITED

Brian Menzies Barker, Blenkinship Associates Patent Attorneys PO Box 34, CHATSWOOD NSW 2067 VANITY TOP Details of Associated Provisional Application Nos: PM2116 1st November 1993 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: llr 2 VANITY TOP The present invention relates to reinforced thermoplastic moulded vanity tops and in particular to a method of construction for such tops utilising one piece seamless mouldings on the upper surface which mouldings form both the basin and the bench top.

For a number of years one piece vanity tops incorporating the basin/s and the horizontal bench top surfaces have been moulded utilising a technique whereby the top surface of the vanity is formed by application of firstly a release agent, then gel coat, then fillers to a mould.

More recent vanity tops have utilised vacuum formed o..

o thermoplastic shells as the upper surface thereof :i although such products to date have been time consuming to produce hence resulting in the necessity for manufacturers to maintain substantial inventories.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an economical method of fabricating re-inforced one piece vanity tops utilising one piece vacuum formed uppe:" surfaces or at least to provide the market with an alternative method of manufacture.

3 According to the present invention there is disclosed a method of fabricating a one piece vanity top comprised of the steps of: a) vacuum forming the upper surface of a vanity top including the basin area as a one piece shell from thermoplastic material; b) reinforcing the underside of the basin area of the shell; h ec 10 c) reinforcing at least the underside of the bench top portion of same; d) fixing raised formwork onto the underside of the basin about the area intended to house the waste; the depth of the formwork being at least fifteen millimetres; e) backfilling the void between the raised formwork o and the basin with settable filling material whilst ensuring that no settable filling material finds its way through the basin waste position to the interior of the bowl defining the basin.

One method of performing the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front to rear cross section through a shell as utilised in connection with the present invention; 4 Figure 2 is a front to rear cross section through the shell of figure 1 after reinforcement of the bowl; Figure 3 is a front to rear cross section through the shell of figure 2 after affixation of the skin; i0 10 Figure 4 is a front to rear cross section of the shell of figure 3 after cutting of the waste hole; Figure 5 is a front to rear cross section of the shell of figure 4 after backfilling of the skin; Figure 6 is a front to rear cross section of the shell of figure 5 after reinforcement and backfilling of the horizontal areas; scino h Figure 7 is a front to rear cross section of the shell of figure 6 after completion of the manufacturing process; and Figure 8 is a front to rear cross section of the shell of figure 1 after completion of the manufacturing process and inclusion of a basin overflow.

5 The method of vanity construction depicted in figures 1-7 hereof starts with the vacuum-forming of the upper surface of a vanity top from poly methyl-methacrylate so as to form a one piece shell 1 incorporating the basin or basins 2, the horizontal bench top portions 3 and the splash back 4.

As is best viewed in figure 2 the basin area may then i0 10 be reinforced by spraying chopped fiberglass mat in polyester resin over the underside of the basin area 2 to form reinforced Xasin portion Preferably before the fiberglass reinforcement on the 15 15 basin area has had a chance to form a skin a raised :annular cupped skin 6 is placed around intended waste eooe portion 7 of the basin area; the annular cupped skin portion having a substantially circular aperture 8 therein slightly larger than the intended hole in the shell through which the waste (not shown) is intended to pass. It will be observed that the skin sits down onto the basin around peripheral portions 9 and as is best viewed from figure 4 may be fiberglassed or otherwise attached to the basin around peripheral flange portions 9 by the application of more fiberglass matting and resin.

6 It will be observed from figure 4 that the affixation of the cupped skin portion 6 defines a cavity 11.

As is depicted in figure 5 this cavity 11 may then be backfilled utilising a mix 12 of calcium carbonate and polyester resin.

The preferable method of backfilling the cavity 11 is to insert a plug 13 into the waste aperture 14 to prevent the backfilling material 12 running out of the cavity 11. It will be observed that the aperture 15 in skin 6 is slightly larger than that of the waste so as to leave an annular opening between the plug and the peripheral portions of aperture 15 through which backfill material may be poured into cavity 11.

Backfilling material 12 is also poured onto the underside of bench top portions 3 after a further plug or plugs 16 are inserted into any predrilled apertures for taps or spouts. This resinous material flows into the splashback well 17 but is kept to the minimum covering necessary to bed reinforcing stringers 18 which are then inserted before further resinous material 12 is poured onto the back of bench top portions 3 so as to cover stringers 18 and achieve the desired finished thickness for the bench top portions 3.

7 After the backfilled resinous material 12 has set the peripheral portions 19 of the original poly methylmethacrylate shell may be trimmed from the finished product as depicted in figure 7. These peripheral portions have of course served to contain backfilled resinous material 12 and form such material to the desired profile.

The poly methyl-methacrylate shell hence forms the entirety of the visible surfaces of the topside of the finished product which is therefore of seamless construction. This shell may be transparent so that the colour of the unit is imparted by the backfilled 15 material although in such a situation a coat of coloured material is often placed on the basin area before the application of fiberglass reinforcement.

Flower or other transfers may also be placed against the underside of the clear shell prior to application S 20 of colour, reinforcement and backfill materials in order to provide ornamentation to the finished product.

The object of the reinforcement and backfilling processes above described is to provide strength and rigidity to the poly methyl-methacrylate shell which would otherwise have nowhere near the desired rigidity.

There are however many other methods of imparting such rigidity to a poly methyl-methacrylate shell which do 8 not necessarily achieve the bulk imparted by the backfilling of the bench top portions and waste area above described. It has been found important to fulfill consumer expectations concerning a desirable thickness for the vanity unit as a whole and it will be appreciated that the above method of construction results in a unit having considerable thickness at all areas of the finished product which may be viewed includ'ng peripheral bench top portions and cuts through the waste and tap/spout locations.

In addition to visual inspections by consumers and S" users which must result in the aforementioned S 15 perception of thickness of the product the finished product must also be structurally sound and withstand "tap" testing by the consumer; the latter type of testing being that which occurs when a knuckle is wrapped against the inside of the bowl or other portion of the product to produce either a "hollow" or "sturdy" noise. it has been found that construction methods as above described not only provide adequate mechanical properties but also reassure consumers who perform "tap" tests and visually inspect the thickness of the finished product.

Figure 8 depicts an embodiment of the present invention wherein flange portion 6 incorporates a waste outlet a waste passage 21 and an overflow/waste inlet 22. It will be appreciated that the method of construction described in the present invention is readily adaptable so as to incorporate such an overflow. The overflow system involves a different cupped skin configuration which accepts a preformed tube for the overflow passage. These may be fibreglassed to the basin shell and then covered by a thin flowcoat of backfill material. In order to disguise the relatively thin basin shell at overflow/waste inlet 22 a visual baffle 23 may be incorporated into the shell 1 or added afterwards.

The peripheral portions 9 of annular cupped skin 6 may have an additional layer of fibreglass mat and resin 10 laid thereover and onto the underside of the basin in order to enhance the bond between the annular cupped skin 6 and the basin area of the vanity top.

It should be appreciated that the method of vanity top construction above described may be varied by substitution of different plastic materials known to those skilled in the art apart from those mentioned in the example above.

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Claims (8)

1. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top comprised of the steps of: a) vacuum forming the upper surface of a vanity top including the basin area as a one piece shell from thermoplastic material; b) reinforcing the underside of the basin area of the shell c) re-inforcing at least the underside of the bench top portion of same; 15 d) fixing raised formwork onto the underside of the basin about the area intended to house the waste; the depth of the formwork being at least fifteen millimetres; e) backfilling the void between the raised formwork 20 and the basin with settable filling material whilst ensuring that no settable filling material finds its way through the basin waste position to the interior of the bowl defining the basin.

2. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with claim 1 hereof wherein the raised formwork is formed as a cupped skin; the profile of the skin being such as to form a void between 11 the bottom of the basin and the skin adjacent the intended waste pcsition; there being an aperture in the cupped skin to facilitate backfilling.

3. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with claim 2 hereof wherein the method of ensuring that no settable filling material finds its way through the basin waste position into the interior of the bowl defining the basin is as follows: a) Ensuring that the vacuum formed one piece shell for the vanity top contains an aperture intended e* 15 to a*ev accept a waste; C Ensuring that the cupped skin contains an opening which, with the vanity top inverted, lies directly above the basin waste aperture and is of slightly greater dimension than the basin waste aperture; c) Inserting a removable plug into the basin waste which plug extends at least up to the level of the opening in the cupped skin with the vanity top in the inverted position; 0 d) Backfilling the void between the skin and the basin through the opening between the skin and the plug; e) Removing the plug after the settable filling material has set. 7 R ;A0No i -12-

4. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with claim 1 hereof wherein the one piece shell is fabricated from poly methyl-methacrylate.

A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with claim 1 wherein step is performed whilst maintaining the shell in an inverted position and the reinforcement comprises filler alone or filler ard stiffening members.

6. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with any one of the preceding claims wherein a waste conduit is affixed to the underside of the basin having an inlet communicating with the basin adjacent an upper extremity and an outlet extending into :i the raised formwork and communicating with the hole for the basin waste.

7. A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top in accordance with claim 3 hereof wherein the inlet to the overflow conduit is disguised by a visual baffle. 13

8. A vanity top when constructed in accordance with any one of the preceding claims. DATED this 18th day of August 1997. FLAIR WE-1RNATIONAL PRODUCTS PTY LTD .by their Patent Attorneys Barker Blenkinship and Associates 14 ABSTRACT A method of fabricating a one piece vanity top of the type utilising a poly methyl-methacrylate skin wherein 15 the area around the waste on the underside of the basin is thickened by the addition of backfilling material at least fifteen millimetres in depth; the backfilling material being contained by formwork affixed onto the underside of the basin in an annular area about the waste. *o* 0 *0° I I