EP0834641A2

EP0834641A2 - Modular system for making furniture shutters

Info

Publication number: EP0834641A2
Application number: EP97116931A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alfredo Zengiaro; Mirco Zengiaro
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-10-02
Filing date: 1997-09-30
Publication date: 1998-04-08
Also published as: IT1286848B1; EP0834641A3; ITFI960231A0; ITFI960231A1

Abstract

A modular system to make furniture shutters based on a single modular section bar (1) with varying length and width depending on the shutters' size to obtain and their use, said section bar provided with lenghtwise means (6, 7) which allow the link "n" times to "n" section bars having the same shape; the link of the single section bars is made possible by a continuous seal (6). Besides, the modular section bar is provided lengthwise with border means (3) and (55) and crosswise with connection means (6) and border means (44) and (46).

Description

The present invention relates to the field of components for the furniture manufacturing and specifically to a modular system to make shutters.

Making furniture shutters, such as wall units and bases for a modular kitchen or wardrobes, typically includes plain or drummed thickness panels, finished with veneering and varnishing; these panels must be every time prepared in the wished dimensions or prearranged and stocked according to the same dimensions.

A first inconvenience is the unavoidable limit in the size tipologies and the narrow modularity only achievable from the combination of standard elements.

Such panels, usually made of heartwood or substitutes such as shavings, fillets, plywood have got all the inner drawbacks of the base material - wood - such as: high degree of hygroscopicity, high deformability, bent for the longitudinal warping at the maximum heights, lacking borders endurance with consequent deformation and alteration of the finish layers; all that causing thereto an unexpected obsolescence and endurance unreliability in the shutters approaching and in the connection with hinges.

An other problem concerning the use and experimentally proved is caused by the glues containing toxicants used to make the panels based on shavings agglomerates or sawdust, which release with the time particularly dangerous substances if considering the long period of contact with the users, as in household furniture.

A further inconvenience is that the use of wood and substitutes has proved not to be in line with a tolerable development, with consequent deforesting problems.

It is the main purpose of the present invention to prevent the aforesaid disadvantages and, within such a task, a first aim of the invention is to carry out a modular system to make furniture shutters without any restriction in the shutters' size tipologies and with the possibility of an unlimited modularity.

A further aim of this invention is to obtain shutters modularity attained by this system, both horizontally and vertically.

An other feature of the present invention is to provide a system able to make the furniture shutters indeformable even under unfavorable environment conditions, as in presence of heat, damp, steam, etc., and to make them unchangeable even on the external finish layers.

An other feature is to provide shutters whose borders are proved to be reliable with the time, so as the endurance for coplanar shutters approaching and the endurance of shutters linked to hinges.

A further feature is to provide a system to make furniture shutters based on materials and components without toxicals, completely recyclable, not based on sparely or almost unavailable vegetal materials and with a following impoverishment of the environment estate.

The last but not less important feature is to provide a system to make modular shutters which, although it is carried out with high industrial technologies, don't require, for installation and final equipment, any complex technology or particularly skilled Labor.

These and further features are achieved in a modular system to make furniture shutters including a single modular section bar, with varying length and width depending on the shutters' size to obtain and their use, said section bar showing lengthwise means which allow the link "n" times to "n" section bars having the same shape, said link made possible by a continuous seal, said means being able at the same time to hold flanging means and/or connection means of a translucid element to make a glass-fronted area on the shutter, said shutter formed by "n" section bars rimmed by cross continuous means, said shutter resulting from such section bars having finished the upper and the back surfaces and consequent to the finishes these section bars are provided with.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be better shown by the description of the embodiment, preferred but not exclusive, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings where:

Figure 1 is a view in cross axonometric section of the section bar basing the system, flanked by two different joints;
Figure 2 is a view in section of the first joint of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a view in section of heads of the two section bars of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a view in section of the second joint of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a view in cross section of two section bars linked by a joint;
Figure 6 is a view in cross section of three section bars linked by two joints;
Figure 7 is a view in cross section of two section bars linked by a glass module, through two special ends;
Figure 8 is a view in cross section of a section bar for managing horizontal off-size;
Figure 9 is a view in longitudinal section of a section bar provided with a special end;
Figure 10 is a view in vertical axonometric section.

Referring to the figures from 1 to 4, it is illustrated the modular element 1, basing the system, with two tipologies of profiles; said modular element consists of an extruded aluminum section bar, whose length equals a furniture shutter and width equals its submultiples and consists of two hollow closed

chambers

2 and 4 in rectangular section, adjacent and with a same volume, provided at the two

opposite ends

5 and 15 with two

continuous round grooves

12 and 22 that have respectively two first 14 and 24 and two

second

16 and 26 continuous projections; said second angularly

situated projections

16 and 26 limit respectly two

first walls

17 and 27 of two

ducts

18 and 28 whose

second walls

19 and 29 are also limited by the

heads

20 and 30 of the dorsal wall 40 of the section bar 1; said continuous wall connecting the

hollow chambers

2 and 4 is externally provided with a finished grained surface 56. The frontal 50 connecting the

hollow chambers

2 and 4 is a solid wall that can be overlaid with a finishing material such as PVC or wood, or varnished, and it sets the sight wall of the relative shutter. The two hollow chambers are divided by a partition wall 45 provided with a C-shaped inward profile.

The two

ends

5 and 15 of the section bar 1, equal and specular in the construction, are fit for holding different kind of profiles according to the wanted function; the profile 3 illustrated in the figures 1 and 2, is used on the base section bar 1, when the end on which it is applied has to work as finished longitudinal border. Said profile is provided with a continuous bead 13 able to be shrunk in the groove 12, said bead being jointed with the vertically wall 23, having the external face 43 provided with a grained surface and the internal face smooth; opposite the bead 13 there is a wing "L" profile 33, able to be shrunk in the conduct 18 of section bar 1.

The profile 6, illustrated in the figures 1, 4, 5 and 6 is used between two or more section bars 1, 1a, 1b, 1c as coplanar joint. It is provided with two opposite

continuous beads

32 and 34 which will shrink respectively in the two

relative grooves

22 and 12a, whose the groove 22 is situated at the right end of a section bar 1 and the groove 12a at the left end of the adjacent section bar 1a; opposite to the

beads

32 and 34, at the ends of the grained face 57, there are two specular wing profiles with a L-

shaped terminal

35 and 37, whose profile 35 is fit for being shrunk in the conduct 28 of head of profile 1 and the profile 37 can be shrunk in the conduct 18 of the profile 1a. In the figure 6, where the use of three section bars 1, 1b, 1c is showed, two

similar joints

6 and 6a are used, shrunk respectively both in the

grooves

22 and 12b of section bars 1 and 1b and in the

grooves

22b and 12c of section bars 1b and 1c, and in the

back ducts

28 and 18b of

section bars

1 and 1b and 28b and 18c of section bars 1b and 1c.

A further border profile 9, as illustrated in the figure 9, is used in the box furniture shutters in need of dust-cover gaskets; it consists of a border head 39 provided with a continuous back wing extension 38, said extension as male function to hold the dust-cover gasket not represented in the figure; the structure of profile 9, as far as the anchorage to the section bar 1 is concerned, is based as before on bead 13, shrunk on the groove 12 and on the wing "L" profile 33, shrunk in the duct 18.

Referring to the figure 7, the same section bar 1 and 1a with the same heads construction, can be used to make a glazed shutter using a special continuous profile illustrated by the numbers 7 and 7a, provided axially with a

duct

11 and 11a to fix the glass 10; opposite to such duct the continuous profile has the above mentioned structure and includes a continuous bead 8 able to shrink in the groove 22 of the section bar's 1 end and a wing profile provided with "L" end 54, shrunk in the duct 28 of the same end; said profile will be used at the opposite end of section bar 1a. The glass holder profile is provided with a grained finishing back shoulder 25.

In the figure 8 is shown a section bar to carry out the shutter's off-module measures; this is attained through a longitudinal cut of one of the two hollow chambers with the consequent removal of head shaped to hold the ending profiles, on said cut the release insertion occurs of a special aluminum profile having a grained plane finishing head 55 and two wing ledges 31 and 41, the first of which plane 31 gets in the hollow chamber 4 in contact with the frontal wall 50 and the second one arcuate 41 situated against the rear wall 40, the whole carrying out a finishing stopper.

The height variability of the single shutters formed by the aforesaid section bars is attained by a transversal cut; in said cut is introduced, by a horizontal milling, a special aluminum profile 44, essentially having "U" section, which, clamped by self-tapping screws, makes the single sectors each other integral; on the profile 44 is shrunk by pressure an aluminum cover thread 46 having a finishing grained border 47 and two continuous

internal wing elements

48 and 49 whose heads are respectively provided with a

shoulder

51 and 52.

The advantages of this system to make modular shutters for furniture are evident, especially considering that modularity and formal shapes in their size variables are attained by using a single modular section bar.

The so conceived invention is suitable of several changes and variations, all being part of the same inventive concept; besides all the details can be replaceable with others technically equivalent.

Claims

A modular system to make furniture shutters characterized by the fact of being based on a single modular section bar (1) with varying length and width depending on the shutters' size to obtain and their use, said section bar (1) showing lengthwise means (6) which allow the link n times to n section bars having the same shape, said link made possible by a continuous seal (6), said means being able at the same time to hold flanging means (3) and/or connection means (7, 7a) of a translucid element (10) to make a glass-fronted area on the shutter, said shutter formed by n section bars (1, 1a) and rimmed by cross continuous means, said shutter resulting from such section bars having finished upper and back surfaces and consequent to the bars surfaces' finishings.
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claim 1 characterized by the fact that this single section bar (1) forming the shutters by n times approach includes an aluminum extrusion, so as the joint seals (6) and the border means (3) are constituted by aluminum extrusions.
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claim 1 characterized by the fact that the section bar's front (50) is overlaid with PVC, wood essences, varnishing or anodizing or any other finishing suitable with aluminum and whose rear face is provided with a grained surface by extrusion.
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claim 1 characterized by the fact that this single section bar (1) is provided with two closed hollow chambers (2) and (4) with rectangular section and at the two longitudinal ends (5) (15) means that allow the connection to the same adjacent section bars (6, 6a) or allow the border consist of two continuous round grooves (12) and (22) having two first continuous projections (14) and (24) and two second continuous projections (16) and (26), the second ones being angularly disposed and delimiting two dorsal ducts (18) and (28), said grooves and said ducts fit for holding two corresponding beads (32) and (34) and two corresponding "L" wing profiles (35) and (37), said beads and said wing profiles situated in the border means (3) and in the connection means (6) between two profiles.
A modular system to make shutters according to claims 1 and 4 characterized by the fact that said border means (3) are constituted by an extruded profile having inside at one end a continuous bead (13) and at the other end an "L" terminal wing profile (33), said extruded profile having outside a grained surface (56).
A modular system to make furniture shutters according with claim 5 characterized by the fact that the extruded profile (9) is provided above the first L - shaped wing profile (33) with a second wing profile which operates as a male (38), to apply a dust-cover gasket.
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claims 1 and 4 characterized by the fact that the connection means between the modular profiles are constituted by a continuous seal (6) provided with a double opposite bead (32) and (34) and on the upper part a double "L" wing profiles (35) and (37) and a grained back surface (57).
A modular system to make shutters according to claims 1 and 4 characterized by the fact that the connection profile-joint (7, 7a) is provided axially with a continuous duct (11, 11a) to clamp a glass (10), having moreover a grained back shoulder (25).
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claims 1 and 4 characterized by the fact that to border a shutter terminal modular section bar, lengthwise and off-size cut, there is an extruded profile having a plane grained finish head (55) and two wing ledges (31) and (41), the first of which (31) is plane and square head and the second one (41) is arcuate, said wing ledges (31) and (41) fit for being inserted in the open hollow chamber (4) of the modular section bar (1).
A modular system to make furniture shutters according to claim 1 characterized by the fact that to obtain the size variability of shutters the jointed modular sections (1) bars are crosswise sectioned, in said sections made continuous an aluminum "U" profile (44) steadily connected to them is fit by milling, on said profile is inserted an aluminum cover thread (46) having an external finishing border (47) and two wing internal elements (48) and (49) whose heads are provided with a shoulder (51) and (52).