EP1797795A1

EP1797795A1 - Object-holder for furniture

Info

Publication number: EP1797795A1
Application number: EP06125209A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andrea De Marco
Original assignee: Amedeo Della Valentina SpA
Current assignee: Amedeo Della Valentina SpA
Priority date: 2005-12-13
Filing date: 2006-12-01
Publication date: 2007-06-20
Also published as: ITTV20050061U1

Abstract

Object-holder (10) to be placed inside a drawer (50) which delimits a surface area greater than that of the said object-holder (10), characterized by comprising connecting means (24) for an appendix (22) that extends between at least one lateral wall (12, 14) of the object-holder (10) and at least one wall (52) of the drawer (50).

Description

The invention concerns an object-holder for furniture, in particular a cutlery tray for kitchen furniture.
The realization of drawers with lateral metal sides for kitchen furniture is already a known art (see for example the Blum® products by Julius Blum Gmbh). Since the metal is easily bendable and for the purpose of improving the aesthetics of the drawers, the lateral sides of the drawers are not flat on the internal side but slightly concave towards the top. Therefore the bottom of the drawer has a smaller surface area than that of the area defined by the upper borders (see also fig. 2).
Object-holders (or trays) are frequently placed inside these drawers to organize the space inside the drawer. A type of object-holderpa, which is referred to as an example, is a cutlery tray in wood, or in similar materials. The cutlery tray realizes a grill inside the drawer in order to divide the space into different compartments where various kinds of cutlery are kept separated.
The cutlery trays are produced after the drawer, and are often made by third producers. Since the cutlery trays are also produced for conventional drawers, the producers design them with straight lateral sides. Given that a cutlery tray with straight lateral sides will have dimensions that correspond to the bottom of the drawer in which it is placed, in the case of the said particular kitchen drawers specified above, an empty space will inevitably remain between the tray and the sides of the drawer, owing to the diverging curvature of the latter.
This empty space is unpleasant from an aesthetical point of view and above all it is not very functional: small objects or dust can deposit in the space and in order to remove them the cutlery tray (which is full!) needs to be lifted and/or the drawer has to be extracted from the piece of furniture.
Two systems are used to fill the empty space and to adapt the cutlery tray to the drawer. Either the sides of the cutlery tray are shaped, through milling, so that they match the concavity of the sides of the drawer, or a wooden shim of a complementary shape is inserted into the empty space.
The shaping solution requires an additional production cycle, which effects the cost of the product, and it is not easily adaptable to different kinds of drawers. For every curvature it is necessary to realize a shaping ad hoc. The same can be said for the working of the supplementary shim.
The objective of the present invention is to realize an object-holder without the disadvantages present in the known art.
This objective is obtained with an object-holder to be placed inside a drawer which delimits a surface area greater than that covered by object-holder (that is, there is an empty space between the sides of the object-holder and the sides of the drawer in which it is placed), characterized by comprising fasteningmeans for an appendix that extends between at least one lateral wall of the object-holder and at least one wall of the drawer.
By providing the object-holder with fastening means for an appendix, which can fill or plug the empty space between the object-holder and the drawer, it is possible to apply an appendix to the object-holder that is designed to measurement for the specific drawer destined to contain it. Therefore the object-holder of the invention can easily be configured to all kinds of drawers, as only the appendix needs to be designed separately. This implies a considerable saving and simplicity of production. In fact, owing to the different construction typologies utilized for the space containing the drawer, the width of the latter can vary. And this is where the usefulness of the provision of the appendices lies, which can compensate for the different measurements of the drawer, leaving unaltered the dimensions of the object-holder.
The advantages of the invention will be furthermore evidenced in the following specification of a preferred embodiment of the object-holder, hereby referred to as cutlery tray, with reference to the attached drawing where:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cutlery tray according to the invention;
fig. 2 is a view of a kitchen drawer of the known art;
fig. 3 shows the cutlery tray of fig. 1 inserted in the drawer of fig. 2;
fig. 4 shows a cross section according to plan I-I of fig. 3.

In the figures a cutlery tray made out of wood, or similar material, is indicated by 10, according to the invention. It is comprised of two sides 12 and 14, a frontal wall 16, a rear wall 18 and a bottom 20 that together delimit the containing space of the cutlery tray 10. The said space is divided into sections by separators 30, of which, for simplicity, only few have been indicated and only in fig. 1, 3 and 4.
In fig. 2 a drawer 50 in metal can be seen where the cutlery tray 10 is placed. The lateral walls of the drawer 50 are indicated 52, and in fig. 2 and 4 it can be observed that the walls 52 are neither flat, nor perfectly vertical, but slightly curved with the concavity towards the top. Consequently between the cutlery tray 10 and the walls 52 there is an empty space, indicated by 60 in fig. 4.
The sides 12, 14 of the cutlery tray 10, consisting in a small board, each have an horizontal milling 24 on the external surface, where a stick 22 is horizontally inserted with its border without play. The stick 22 is flat and has a rectangular shape, and the width of the stick extends perfectly between one side 12 (or 14) and the adjacent wall 52 of the drawer 50. The stick 22 is thin, therefore being light though strong.
In this manner the space 60 is occluded, preventing dust or objects from penetrating it.
Obviously, if the dimensions of the bottom of the drawer 50 were greater than the cutlery tray 10, in which case there would be a portion of the bottom of the drawer 50 unoccupied by the bottom of the cutlery tray 10 and on which the cutlery tray 10 could slide, the invention is just as efficient. The stick 22 has in this case the further advantage of keeping the cutlery tray 10 in place in respect to the walls 52 of the drawer 50, preventing it from moving around in the inside of the latter.
Materials other than wood can be used for the cutlery tray 10, for example metal or plastic.
The invention is also useful for drawers with internal sides that are flat and vertical, since it works as an adapter of dimensions and as position-stabilizer to the cutlery tray placed inside the drawer.
As well as the milling 24, a simple but efficient solution that creates a joint for the stick 22, for it other connecting means are possible, both permanent as well as non-permanent (screws, nails, glue or other adhesives, hinges, felt). As joint-connecting means a dovetail joint can be used, where the milling 24 can be obtained by a mortiser and the stick 22 is shaped to obtain a tenon.
The same stick 22 can be substituted by a general adjustment/fitting appendix: for example a thin appendix in the shape of a "U" can be produced and the two parallel segments of the "U" can be inserted horizontally in the grooves 24 so that it surrounds the cutlery tray 10. In this manner the appendix is produced in a single piece instead of two separate sticks.
According to the functional or aesthetic needs the milling 24 can have different horizontal dimensions and it can be realized at different heights in relation to the bottom of the cutlery tray 10. For example when more than one groove is made the user can decide on the level to insert the stick 22 thus personalizing the look of the cutlery tray 10 and of the completed drawer 50. The cutlery tray 10 can be equipped with more than one stick, of various lengths and widths, for a better fitting to the drawer 50. Instead of a stick, a complement with a different shape can be used as appendix, even if it is not flat, for example a metallic grill. The appendix can also be used with the purpose of the invention even if it is fixed to the inside of the drawer, preferably on the internal lateralwalls, and not on the tray, in the manner and with the solutions already specified for the tray.
It is understood that insignificant deviations from the concept of the invention expressed by the preceding specification and attached drawings are in any case comprehended within the scope of protection of the following claims.

Claims

Object-holder (10) to be placed inside a drawer (50) which delimits a surface area greater than that covered by the said object-holder (10), characterizedby comprising fastening means (24) for an appendix (22) that extends between at least one lateral wall (12, 14) of the object-holder (10) and at least one wall (52) of the drawer (50).
Object-holder (10) according to claim 1, wherein the fastening means (24) are non-permanent fastening means.
Object-holder (10) according to claim 2, wherein the fastening means (24) are joint-means.
Object-holder (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening means (24) are placed on the outside of the lateral walls (12, 14) of the tray (10).
Object-holder (10) according to claim 4, wherein the fastening means (24) comprise a milling (24) provided on the body of the object-holder (10).
Object-holder (10) according to claim 5, wherein the appendix comprises a stick (22) that can be inserted in the milling (24) without play.
Object-holder (10) according to claim 6, wherein the stick is flat and substantially rectangular.
Object-holder (10) according to claim 6, wherein the stick (22) comprises a tenon segment and the milling has a corresponding mortise shape.
Object-holder (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by being divided into various compartments by separators (30).
Appendix (22) that can be connected to the object-holder (10) carried out according to any of the preceding claims.
Appendix (22) according to claim 10, characterized by being flat.
Appendix (22) according to claims 10 or 11, characterized by being substantially rectangular.
Appendix (22) according to any of the claims from 10 to 12, characterizedby comprising a tenon segment correspondings to a mortised shaping of the fastening means (24).
Appendix (22) according to any of the claims from 10 to 13, characterized by having a U shape.
Drawer (50) adaped for containing an object-holder (10) and delimiting a greater surface area than that covered by the object-holder (10), characterized by comprising fastening means (24) for an appendix (22) that extends between at least one of its walls (52) and at least one lateral wall (12, 14) of the object-holder (10).