EP2520198A1

EP2520198A1 - Auxiliary support for a piece of furniture to be fixed to a wall

Info

Publication number: EP2520198A1
Application number: EP12164753A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luca Carnelos; Simone Della-Rosa; Christian Zonta; Giulio Durigon; Abramo Ivan; Davide Verziagi
Original assignee: Ferramenta Livenza Srl
Current assignee: Ferramenta Livenza Srl
Priority date: 2011-05-04
Filing date: 2012-04-19
Publication date: 2012-11-07
Also published as: RU2012118379A; ITPN20110030A1; JP2012232129A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an auxiliary support device (1) for a piece of furniture (M) to be fixed to a wall (P), said piece of furniture comprising at least two sides (L), a bottom (F) and an upper joint element (C) joining the sides, said auxiliary support device (1) being adapted to cooperate with a mounting assembly comprising at least two lateral mounting brackets (50) each fixed to at least one side (F) and provided with engaging means (55) cooperating with at least one support plate (20) fixed to a wall (P). In particular, said auxiliary device (1) is adapted to be fixed to the bottom (F) and to the upper joint element (C) in at least one intermediate position between said two sides (L).

Description

DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support device or hanger, adapted to fix a piece of furniture to a wall, be it a wall unit or a standing one. In particular the present invention relates to an auxiliary support device for a piece of furniture adapted to be used in cooperation with two conventional mounting brackets associated to the sides and cooperating with a support plate fixed to a wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To mount a wall unit it is known the use of devices of the so-called hidden-type formed by mounting brackets integral to the piece of furniture and cooperating with a plate or a section bar fixed to the wall.
Generally, the mounting brackets are housed or fixed to the sides of the piece of furniture: therefore the weight of the piece of furniture and of its possible content is discharged only onto two engaging points to the support plate.
Alternatively, it is possible to provide an additional dividing wall to be placed inside of the piece of furniture, parallel to the sides, in order to stiffen the structure of the piece of furniture itself and whereon it is possible to fix a further mounting bracket to prevent the piece of furniture from flexing in its central area.
Moreover, necessarily, the bracket engaging point to the plate fixed to the wall is slightly shifted laterally with respect to the side of the piece of furniture: this forms a torque relative to the vertical axis which, in case of loads greater than those expected, can cause the disengagement of the mounting bracket from the piece of furniture or the side breaking.
Another mounting assembly, which has an advantageous application particularly for those pieces of furniture wherein instead of a cap, the top is directly placed on their sides, requires the use of a "chain", that is a stiff element, in this case preferably of metal and C-shaped, which extends continuosly from one side to the other of the piece of furniture and forms a rectilinear guide for the slidably fitting of auxiliary engaging means adapted to cooperate with the wall support plate.
However, the mounting assembly comprising "chain" and the above described engaging means form a considerable bulk, certainly greater than that of the traditional mounting brackets, and therefore it is unlikely to be applied to pieces of furniture different from kitchen bases.
Finally, there are wall engaging systems comprising a stiff structure fixed to the sides and if needed also to the bottom and/or to the cap of the piece of furniture that, even though it assures a stable and secure fixing, do not allow to adjust the position of the piece of furniture on the wall, making it difficult to position and level the piece of furniture itself.
Though the above described known engaging systems for wall units generally work satisfactorily, they can turn out to be insufficient especially when the wall unit is long, wide and low: in fact, under these conditions, it is overhanging loaded and this is much more increased in the case of extractable drawers. The most difficult situation and therefore the most dangerous for the user's safety is, for example, in the case of a base wall unit, with an extractable drawer and with an accidental load in the upper and front area, such as, for example, a child's weight. In this situation, the conventional wall mounting systems might not be sufficient to contrast the flexion load generated, which can even cause the wall unit disengagement or the overturning of the base unit.
A further inconvenience which might occur is in that very often the cap and the bottom which extend in length and much less in height tend to flex vertically under their own load or because of the load they are subjected to.
On the contrary it would be advantageous, and it is really an object of the present invention, to provide a support device to be used together with the traditional mounting brackets, in particular those which allow the adjustment of the piece of furniture position relative to the support plate capable to provide a structural stiffening element for the piece of furniture which contributes to prevent this inconvenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to overcome the state of the art technique devising an auxiliary support device, to be used together with the conventional hangers fixed to the sides, which could provide a greater resistance to flexing.
In the scope of the above described objective, a purpose of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary support device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall which have a limited overall dimension so as not to negatively affect the piece of furniture appearance.
A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a support device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall which acts as a structural strengthening of the piece of furniture itself.
Another purpose of the invention is that of providing an anti-extraction device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall which ensures a greater safety for the user preventing the accidental disengagement of the piece of furniture from the wall support plate.
One not least important purpose is to devise an auxiliary support device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall which can be obtained by means of the usual and known systems, machinery and equipment.
The objective and purposes described above, and others which will be later described, are reached by means of an auxiliary support device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall as defined in claim 1; further characteristics are defined in the following dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent from the following description for illustration only but not limited to, with reference to the appended figures wherein:

figs. 1A, 1B and 1C respectively show a front view, a side view and a perspective view of a wall unit whereon it is advantageous to apply at least an auxiliary support device according to the present invention;
fig. 2 is a back perspective view of the engaging system of a wall unit comprising two auxiliary support devices according to the present invention;
figs 3A and 3B are respectively an exploded view and a perspective view of a support device according to the present invention seen from the side facing wall P;
fig. 4A is an enlarged view showing a first preferred fixing procedure of the auxiliary support device to a piece of furniture the preceding figures whereof;
fig. 4B is a sectional view of the auxiliary support device according to the invention;
figs. 5A and 5B show a detail, respectively a perspective and a section, of a second preferred fixing procedure of the auxiliary support device to a piece of furniture;
figs. 6A and 6B show a detail, respectively a perspective and a section, of a third preferred fixing procedure of the auxiliary support device to a piece of furniture;
figs. 7A and 7B show a detail, respectively a perspective and a section, of a fourth preferred fixing procedure of the auxiliary support device to a piece of furniture;
figs. 8A and 8B show a detail, respectively a perspective and a section, of a fifth preferred fixing procedure of the auxiliary support device to a piece of furniture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The appended figures show some preferred embodiments of an auxiliary support device 1, or hanger, for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall according to the present invention being adapted to be used so as to cooperate with conventional wall mounting assembly as it can be seen in figures 1A, 1B and 1C.
What is now going to be described is referred to the support device when installed: therefore the words "vertical", "horizontal", "high", and "low" are to be understood, both in the present description and in the appended claims, relative to the position of the piece of furniture to be fixed to a wall. Moreover, for simplicity, in the following description the same reference numbers will be given to the elements which are the same or have the same function in different embodiments.
A piece of furniture M comprising at least two sides L, an upper side joint element C, a bottom F and if needed a back S, is fixed to a wall P by means of at least two known mounting brackets 50 each one of which is associated to one of the sides L of the piece of furniture and is provided with engaging means 55. Said brackets 50 cooperate with at least one support plate 20 firmly constrained to wall P in order to fix the piece of furniture M to the wall itself.
In the following description and in the appended figures said upper joint element C coincides with the wall forming the "cap" of a piece of furniture. Of course, said upper side joint element C can also coincide with a "chain", that is a structural support element, generally made of wood or aluminium and arranged in correspondence with the back upper edge whereon the top is placed. Besides, in the following description it will be referred to a piece of furniture comprising a back S; yet, banally, back S could not be present, for example in the case of an extractable drawer.
Each of the engaging means 55 comprises an adjustable element, for example screw-shaped, and typically circular headed or mushroom headed which engages with a rectilinear and horizontal guide 25 formed on the surface of the wall support plate 20 facing the piece of furniture.
If necessary, the mounting brackets 50 can comprise means, known per se, to adjust the piece of furniture M position relative to wall P. For example the adjustment in a horizontal direction can be done from the inside of the piece of furniture, possibly through a suitable opening made on the back S if present, to the threaded stem of the engaging means 55 which, sliding in the body of the bracket 50, allows the spacing-nearing of the piece of furniture to the wall P.
The vertical position can be adjusted instead, for example, acting on a couple of conical gears provided inside the mounting bracket 50 which engage one with the other according to two orthogonal axes and which can be operated by means of an Allen wrench from the inside of the piece of furniture.
According to a specific characteristic of the invention, at least a further auxiliary support device 1 fixed at least to the bottom F and to said upper side joint element C (whether cap or chain), and if present also to the back S, is associated to the mounting assembly, in one intermediate position between the two sides L (fig. 2).
With reference to figs. 3A and 3B, an auxiliary support device 1 according to the present invention comprises a couple of end elements 2 and at least one connection element 3 arranged between said end elements 2, to which it is associated through conventional fixing elements 7, such as screws. Preferably, the connection element 3 is made of only one aluminium extrusion and extends in a vertical direction substantially the same as that of the piece of furniture M, that is substantially the same distance between bottom F and the upper side joint element C. Alternatively, said connection element 3 can, for example, be made of two distinct extrusions and parallel mounted on said end elements 2.
The end elements 2 are adapted to fix the auxiliary hanger 1 to the bottom F and to the cap C of the piece of furniture M, in particular in correspondence with those of their edges which are the nearest to the wall P: as it can be seen in figures 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B, each end element 2 comprises at least two axially projecting fins 8 from the two ends, each provided with a through opening 9 adapted to cooperate with a fixing means 10, such as a screw, which is contextually fitted inside the opening 9 and into an opening 11 of the wall forming the bottom F or cap C of the piece of furniture, according to a direction orthogonal to the plane formed by the surface of wall P.
The connection element 3 comprises a central notch 13 having a substantially C-shaped section, which preferably extends for the whole extension of the connection element 3 itself and which forms a vertical rectilinear seat into which a sliding element 4, such as a slide, is slidably fitted. Engaging means 5 are associated to said slide 4, the engaging means 5 being axially adjustable screw-like, whose head, preferably circular or mushroom-shaped, projects relatively to the slide 4 body and is adapted to engage with said horizontal rectilinear guide 25 formed on the wall support plate.
The bottom wall of said vertical seat 13 comprises an elongated opening 12 through which it is possible to reach the threaded stem of the engaging means 5 from the inside of the piece of furniture by means of an appropriate tool in order to adjust the piece of furniture position according to a horizontal direction. Alternatively, the horizontal adjustment of the piece of furniture can be obtained mounting a lever-like device, known per se, on the slide 4.
Advantageously, when the piece of furniture has a back S, said elongated opening 12 is arranged so as to be engaged with a corresponding opening 45 formed on the back S itself to make it possible to adjust the engaging means 5.
Instead, with reference to the vertical adjustment, it is preferably carried out only through the lateral mounting brackets 50 as previously described; anyway, as the slide 4 carrying the engaging means 5 can freely slide inside the seat 13 provided in the elongated element 3, the engaging element 5 head is always gravity constrained, or alternatively thanks to an appropriate elastic element, to the wall support plate 20, therefore following the vertical adjustment and the levelling carried out through the lateral mounting brackets 50.
Preferably, the sliding element 4 is associated with an anti-extraction device 6 to prevent, in case of an accidental lifting of the piece of furniture, its disengagement from the wall support plate 20 and consequently its falling.
In particular, the anti-extraction device 6 can be a simple grub screw, or a similar element, whose head abuts against the lower external wall of the guide 25 (fig.4B).
The auxiliary support device 1 of the present invention can be fixed to the bottom F and to the cap C of a piece of furniture in different ways. Figures 4A and 4B, previously described, show a first method of using the appropriate fixing means 10; in figures 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B two other possible solutions are shown which consider the use of the fixing means 10, while in the following figures two further ways of fixing the support device 1 to the piece of furniture without using external fixing means are shown.
The fixing procedure shown in figures 5A and 5B provides that each end element 2 comprises at least a projecting fin 18 relative to the end element body itself and arranged along the plane perpendicular to wall P. Each fin 18 is crossed by an opening 19 through which fixing means 10, such as a screw, are fitted from the inside of the piece of furniture and according to a vertical direction. As it can be seen in the figures, when the piece of furniture is provided with a back S said fins 18 before being fixed to cap C and bottom F are caused to pass through the corresponding openings 15 formed in the back itself.
Alternatively, as shown in figures 6A and 6B, the end elements 2 are fixed to bottom F and cap C through the fitting of fixing means 10 such as screws, according to an inclined direction and through the through openings 39 provided in the body of the end elements 2. In particular, once placed, said fixing means 10 are arranged on an inclined plane relative to the plane described by the back S of the piece of furniture M or, alternatively, arranged on a plane parallel to wall P similarly to the solution shown in figures 5A and 5B.
In a possible solution wherein the use of external fixing means is not required (figures 7A, 7B), both end elements 2 are provided with a plurality of axially projecting elements 48 from the body of the end element 2 itself and preferably having a circular section, such as pegs. Said pegs 48 are adapted to be fitted into a corresponding plurality of blind openings 49 having a circular section which extend into the bottom F and into the cap C of the piece of furniture M according to a vertical direction.
Finally, the fixing procedure shown in figures 8A and 8B requires the end elements 2 to have a projecting fin 58 adapted to be fitted into a groove 59 provided in the bottom F and in the cap C. Advantageously when the piece of furniture M is provided with a back S, the projecting fin 58 can be fitted in the same groove provided for the fixing of the back S itself. Obviously, in this case, the grooves 59 will have a slightly greater width in order to house both the thickness of the back S and also the fin 58 of the end elements 2.
Finally, from the foregoing description it is apparent that the auxiliary support device for pieces of furniture to be fixed to a wall according to the present invention meets the purposes and the advantages initially predicted. In fact it has been obtained an auxiliary support device adapted to cooperate with the traditional hangers fixed to the sides, capable to give a greater resistance to flexing especially in wall units with overhanging loads.
Advantageously it is possible to mount as many auxiliary devices as needed based on the dimension and/or shape of the piece of furniture, or on the load it is subjected to, so as to distribute the overall load on a greater number of elements.
Besides, said auxiliary support devices 1, instead of being fixed to the sides of a piece of furniture, are associated to the bottom and to the cap: in this way it is possible to obtain a stiffer fixing, which prevents the yielding noticeable in the prior art fixing systems for pieces of furniture.
Moreover, it is apparent that using an auxiliary support device 1 according to the present invention, substantially contributes to the structural solidity of the piece of furniture on which it is mounted, preventing the back, the cap C and the bottom F from flexing because of the load contained inside the piece of furniture and/or because of their own weight.
Undoubtedly, as said auxiliary device 1 has a very limited bulk, it is applicable in fixing any piece of furniture to be fixed to a wall without affecting the appearance of the piece of furniture itself in any way.
Besides, the anti-extraction device of the piece of furniture provided in the auxiliary support device prevents that accidental lifting of the piece of furniture causes its disengagement and consequently its falling from the wall support plate.
Of course, the present invention can be variously applied, modified or varied remaining in the field of the patent protection as defined in the appended claims.
Moreover, the materials and the equipment used for the embodiment of the present invention, as well as the forms and dimensions of each component can be the most suitable according to the specific requirements.

Claims

Auxiliary support device (1) for a piece of furniture (M) to be fixed to a wall (P), said piece of furniture comprising at least two sides (L), a bottom (F) and an upper joint element (C) joining the sides, said auxiliary device (1) being adapted to cooperate with a mounting assembly comprising at least two lateral mounting brackets (50) each fixed to at least one side (L) and provided with engaging means (55) cooperating with at least one support plate (20) fixed to said wall (P), characterised in that said auxiliary device (1) is adapted to be fixed to the bottom (F) and to the upper joint element (C) in at least one intermediate position between said two sides (L).
Auxiliary support device (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a pair of end elements (2) adapted to fix said auxiliary device (1) to the bottom (F) and to the upper joint element (C), and at least one connection element (3), having an extension substantially equal to the distance between said bottom (F) and said upper joint element (C) and arranged between said two end elements (2), to which it is associated through conventional fixing means (7).
Auxiliary support device (1) according to claim 2, wherein said connection element (3) comprises a substantially C-shaped central notch (13), which forms a vertical rectilinear seat into which a sliding element (4) is slidably fitted, engaging means (5), adapted to be engaged with a rectilinear and horizontal guide (25) obtained on the surface of said support plate (20) facing towards the piece of furniture (M) being associated to said sliding element (4) for fixing said piece of furniture (M) to said wall (P).
Auxiliary support device (1) according to claim 3, wherein said engaging means (5) is axially adjustable to horizontally adjust the piece of furniture position with respect to said wall (P).
Auxiliary support device (1) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said sliding element (4) is provided with an anti-extraction device (6), such as a grub screw, whose head is adapted to abut against the lower wall of the guide (25) to prevent the piece of furniture (M) from being accidentally disengaged.
Auxiliary support device (1) according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein said end elements (2) are provided with through openings (9, 19, 39) through which fixing means (10) are fitted to associate said end elements (2) to the bottom (F) and to said upper joint element (C).
Auxiliary support device (1) according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein said end elements (2) are provided with a plurality of axially projecting elements (48) adapted to be fitted into a corresponding plurality of blind openings (49) which extend into the bottom (F) and into the upper joint element (C) according to a vertical direction.
Auxiliary support device (1) according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein said end elements (2) are provided with a projecting fin (58) adapted to be fitted into a groove (59) provided in the bottom (F) and in the upper joint element (C).