EP1269887A1

EP1269887A1 - Multi-purpose module for kitchen furniture

Info

Publication number: EP1269887A1
Application number: EP02380137A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jesus Maria Ugarte Aramburu; Manuel Azcarate Cortabarria
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-06-29
Filing date: 2002-06-28
Publication date: 2003-01-02
Also published as: ES1049532Y; ES1049532U

Abstract

Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, mainly comprised of a front panel with the corresponding baseboard joined to a bottom base provided with means of displacement for the entire module, with a tubular structure provided between the base and the central panel that allows coupling a number of containers, some meant to hold suitably selected trash and others to hold cleaning products.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a module for kitchen furniture, particularly a sink-base module having multiple functions; on one hand it can be used for selective storage of household garbage for its subsequent recycling and on another it can be used to store cleaning products and tools.
Thus, the object of the present invention is to enhance the functionality of this type of modules in the field of kitchen furniture, providing an improved use of the available space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that the frequent shortage of storage space in kitchens has resulted in a trend to optimise the use of said space. In this sense, the space under the sink, as well as being partially occupied by the sink basin, which projects downwards, and by the feeding and drainage pipes, is often used to store cleaning tools and products and to house the trashcan.
The growing environmental awareness and the increasing need to recycle waste have resulted in public administrations establishing different types of containers for the different types of household waste, which in turn forces users to install at their homes independent containers for different types of trash, such as paper, glass, plastic, etc.
This in turn has resulted in the traditional trashcan being replaced by several independent containers, which according to current regulations must be at least five, one for paper and cardboard, another for plastics and containers, another for glass, another for electric batteries and a fifth one for the remaining trash, mainly organic waste. This proliferation of containers, together with the need to reserve a space for the cleaning products and tools, makes said available space insufficient for using traditional containers, both with containers that are physically independent of the furniture and with containers associated to the door of said furniture.
Under-sink modules are known that mean to alleviate this problem by using, instead of a swivelling door, a door such as a drawer front so that the module as a whole can slide forwards along lateral guides, which facilitates access to the various containers provided inside but which does not really imply an improved use of the space available.

DECRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The multipurpose module of the invention allows a maximum, almost complete, use of the space available; according to the essential characteristic of the invention, the front of said module forms a single piece with the traditional baseboard of the furniture, which can be up to 160 mm high, so that the base of the module, instead of being placed above said baseboard as is traditional, can be placed next to its bottom, implying an increased useful height of the module as regards its inner capacity.
For this purpose and more specifically, the front of the module is firmly attached to a pair of plates with front ends projecting backwards on their bottom end, in order to receive in their rear extensions a corresponding pair of wheels, of low height, by which the module as a whole can move backwards and forwards with the aid of grooved guides placed on the floor.
As an alternative displacement system for the module, two fixed tubular guides with an upper longitudinal opening can be placed on the floor, and two mobile guides can be placed on the module that can move telescopically inside the former guides and that are joined to the base of the module by attachment means that run through the upper longitudinal openings of the fixed guides.
According to another characteristic of the invention, attached to said plates is a sheet that forms the base of the module, which is suitably shaped and that because of its small thickness also participates in increasing the effective height of the module.
The described structure is complemented by a lateral and rear cage structure made of rods with a small diameter, which on one hand helps reduce the weight of the module and also implies an increased useful space in horizontal sense. This cage also incorporates inner crossbars, also made of small rods, that suitably compartmentalise the module for a simpler and more rational internal implementation of the various containers that complete it.
According to another characteristic of the invention, some of the containers in the module have an adjustable height, for which they are provided with a number of peripheral grooves, in an upper sector, so that the maximum height of the container can be set by cutting along the suitable groove, in view of the constraints set by the installation of the sink and its drain pipes.
The aforementioned containers will leave a free space on the base of the module used to hold cleaning tools and products, which can also be used to hold an additional different container, particularly in the case of double modules, that is, modules with two doors for double basin sinks, in which case one of the halves can be used for selective trash collection and the other for holding the cleaning tools and products, with the same structural characteristics and optimum use of the available space being defined in both halves.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As a complement of the description being made and in order to aid a better understanding of the invention, according to an example of a preferred embodiment, a set of drawings is accompanied as an integral part of the description where, for purposes of illustration only and in a non-limiting sense, the following is represented:
Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a multipurpose module for kitchen furniture according to the object of the present invention, corresponding to a double under-sink module.
Figure 2 shows a lateral-rear perspective view of one of the two halves of the module shown in figure 1.
Figure 3 shows a perspective exploded view of the support structure associated to the front of the module.
Figure 4 shows, also in a perspective view, the three different types of containers that complement the structure of figure 3, with an enlarged detailed and sectional view of one container in order to show clearly the cutting lines that allow adjusting its effective height.
Figure 5 shows, finally, a front perspective view of the assembly of figure 1, in a closed position.
Figure 6 shows an alternative for figure 2.
Figure 7 shows a sectional view of figure 6 along the VII-VII line.

PREFERRED EMBODMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above described figures, it can be seen that the kitchen module disclosed, in its simplest embodiment, comprises a front panel (1) with its corresponding handle (2), equivalent to the door of any traditional kitchen module but with the particular characteristic that in the present case said front panel (1) forms a single piece with the baseboard (3), by means of the traditional step (4) that makes said baseboard be substantially recessed, defining together a unit that can be extracted in a forward sense with the aid of small wheels (5) that run on rails or grooved guides (6) provided for such purpose on the floor, as shown particularly in figure 1.
More specifically, said wheels (5) are mounted on a pair of plates (6'), particularly visible in the enlargement of figure 3, which are suitably shaped to receive the base (7) of the module and the assembly formed by the front panels (1), (3) and (4), with said base (7) consisting of a simple metal sheet folded such that it adapts on its front to the top of the baseboard (3), forming the step (4) that connects it to the front panel (1).
In this manner the actual bottom base of the module is markedly displaced downwards, both by the small thickness of the base and, particularly, by the lower level of this bottom with respect to the door or front panel (1) of said module.
The structure is complemented by a cage (8) made of rods with a small diameter that are suitably attached to the sheet (7) and are adapted to the rear face of the front panel (1), defining a rectangular frame that is suitably sized and is provided with inner compartmentalisation rods (9) for a correct positioning of the various containers, thereby allowing to classify the trash correctly.
In this sense, and more specifically, a first container (10) with a greater height is provided, which is meant to conform to the rear wall of the front panel (1) and is intended for paper and cardboard, a second container (11) intended, for example, for glass, a third container (12) intended for plastic, cans and tetra-brick ® containers, a fourth container (13) intended for organic waste and a small container (14) placed under the container (10) for paper and cardboard and meant for electric batteries.
Said containers (10-11-12-13-14) leave a free space (15) above the base sheet (7) that can be used to store cleaning products and tools, with the aid of a fixed shelf (16) placed on the top or, whenever suitable and particularly in the case of double modules as in the example shown in figure 1, it can be used to place another container of an adequate size, in which case the cleaning products and tools would be placed in the other half of the module, which has a similar structure and the same front panel (1').
The containers (11-12-13), which are essentially identical to each other, and the container (10), can be provided with a handle (17) that simplifies their handling, as well as being provided in a sector near their opening with a number of peripheral grooves (18) that define weakened lines to allow a simple partial removal of material by cutting along the most suitable line (18) in order to obtain, from a container of standard height, a container of the maximum height allowable in each practical case.
Figure 6 shows an example of the distribution of the module. In it the containers (11, 12, 13 and 14) are identical, the width of the container (10) has been reduced and three new containers (19, 20, 21) have been provided for containing cleaning products.
In said figure the module moves along two tubular guides (22) attached to the floor and provided on the top with a longitudinal opening (23), with the module moving along two moving guides (24) that extend telescopically inside the fixed guides (22) and that are firmly attached to the base (7) of the module by attachment means (25) capable of moving along the longitudinal openings (23) of the fixed guides (22). This arrangement allows the module to move without any of its parts touching the floor.
In this manner, according to the object of the invention, a maximum use of the space available is achieved, quantifiable as on the order of 10-12 cm greater in height than that of a similar kitchen module, adaptable to any type of sink with any type of drain system used in the market, by adapting the height of the containers to the constraints of said system, which module is indistinguishable externally from a traditional module and can be combined with any line of furniture without an appreciable cost increase, which in any case would be fully justified in view of the considerably greater efficiency it provides.

Claims

Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, specifically conceived as an under-sink module meant to house inside it a number of containers (10 to 14) for selective collection of household trash as well as cleaning products and tools, with an optimum use of the available space, characterised in that its front panel (1) forms a single piece with the traditional recessed bottom baseboard (3), which can be pulled out, such that said bottom or base (7) of the module is displaced substantially downwards with respect to the top of the baseboard with the resulting increased capacity of the module.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to claim 1, characterised in that said base (7) is embodied as a thin sheet with a double orthogonal elbow on its front by which it is attached to the rear face of the baseboard (3) and which acts as an attachment means between said baseboard and the front panel (1) of the module, in which attachment participates a pair of stiffening plates (6') that follow the profile of said sheet and are firmly attached to the rear face of the front panel (1), and that incorporate the displacement means on their bottom and horizontal segment.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to the above claims, characterised in that suitably attached to the base sheet (7) and to the rising segment of the pair of plates (6') is a cage (8) made from small-diameter metal rods, defining a suitably raised peripheral frame with inner compartmentalisation rods for installing a plurality of containers (10 to 14) of various types, meant in turn to hold trash of different kinds.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to the above claims, characterised in that it includes at least five containers (10 to 14), a container (10) with a greater height meant to be placed immediately behind the front panel (1) of the module, particularly intended for paper and cardboard, three identical containers (11, 12 and 13) with a considerably lower height and respectively intended for glass, organic waste and plastics, cans and the like, and a fifth container (14) that is considerably smaller and is meant to hold electric batteries, with said containers leaving empty a space that can be optionally used to store cleaning products and tools or to place a sixth container.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to claim 4, characterised in that the container (10) placed behind the central panel has a smaller width than said panel and allows to place on one of its sides a number of smaller containers (19, 20 and 21) placed on top of each other and meant to hold cleaning materials.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to the above claims, characterised in that the three identical containers (11, 12 and 13) are provided in an upper marginal area with a number of peripheral grooves (18) that define weakened lines to allow cutting the container along any of these lines, in order to adapt its maximum height to the specific constraints of the type of sink and drain of the furniture.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to the above claims, characterised in that it can incorporate one or two front panels (1), with the corresponding aforementioned structure, depending on whether the module is single or double corresponding to a double-sink module.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to claim 2, characterised in that the means of displacement consist of two pairs of wheels (5) with a small diameter that cooperate with a pair of grooved guides (6) placed on the floor.
Multipurpose module for kitchen furniture, according to claim 2, characterised in that the means of displacement consist of two mobile guides (24) attached to the base (7) of the module by attachment means (25), which guides can move telescopically inside two fixed tubular guides (22) attached to the floor and are provided with longitudinal openings (23) meant to allow the attachment means (25) of the moving guides (24) to pass and move.