EP2666386B1

EP2666386B1 - Base-positioning device unit for positioning said base on furniture

Info

Publication number: EP2666386B1
Application number: EP20130164237
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Cattaneo
Original assignee: Leonardo SRL
Current assignee: Leonardo SRL
Priority date: 2012-05-24
Filing date: 2013-04-18
Publication date: 2014-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2033-04-18
Also published as: EP2666386A1; ITMI20120899A1

Description

The present invention relates to a base-positioning device unit for positioning said base between the floor and bottom panel of a piece of furniture, particularly but not exclusively a piece of kitchen furniture
As is well known, some types of furniture, in particular so-called bases of kitchen furniture, must be assembled on adjustable feet to allow their position to be levelled and leave a free space (empty) between the bottom panel and the floor.
This space, which mainly serves for the passage of service cables and tubing, is generally closed in the front and side by means of a base, freely removable, to prevent dirt and other small objects from accumulating under the furniture.
Varies types of devices are known for applying the base to the piece of furniture, in a freely removable way, using the above adjustable feet, or the bottom panel of the piece of furniture, as supporting means.
For this purpose, bases are known, which are suitable for being applied by means of elastically yielding engagement means, movably positioned along the internal surface of the base; these engagement means are connected to the column of the feet.
Another type of known base envisages elastic elements along the upper edge of the base itself which, by warping when in contact with the bottom of the piece of furniture, keep the base in position, thanks to the thrust exerted between bottom and floor.
Both of the above systems of the known art have the disadvantage of a certain difficulty in assembly, which therefore requires considerable skill.
In the former case, in fact, the connection elements must each be positioned in correspondence with the column of a corresponding foot, and then all be contemporaneously click-engaged together.
In the second type of base, it is difficult to position the base vertically, also considering the fact that it is quite difficult to operate from the rear side of the same base.
In the second type of base, moreover, the elastic elements tend to become "plasticized" within a short period of time, losing the elastic characteristics that enable them to maintain the position.
A device for the removable assembly of a base on a piece of furniture is described in European patent EP 0517289 B1 .
The device according to EP 0517289 B1 comprises a stable fixing means to the base and an elastically yielding element in the form of a piston, which is pushed by a spring and is guided so as to allow the engagement of the base by means of the thrust exerted by the device against the bottom panel of the piece of furniture.
Although this device allows a correct and stable assembly of the base with time, in the case of extended baseboards, there is a certain difficulty in assembly of all the anchoring elements to allow the base to be inserted beneath the bottom of the piece of furniture.
As the current tendency of manufacturers is to produce furniture with long bases that allow the whole row of aligned furniture to be covered, three or even more anchoring elements must be lowered contemporaneously.
The assembly operation of the base, which should be as simple as possible, requires, on the other hand, the presence of more than one person to allow it to be effected.
The present tendency of kitchen furniture producers is also to produce more or less high feet and relative bases, with a greater tendency to keep them low, even as little as 5 cm.
If the foot of the piece of furniture, and therefore the base, is very low, however, the foot cannot act as supporting means (connection) for the base, as the column is practically inexistent (having a minimum height).
Different devices must therefore be used for high or low feet, with all the evident drawbacks deriving therefrom.
The demand is therefore strongly felt for a positioning device of the base which can be used with bases having different heights, also with very low bases.
The general objective of the present invention is to satisfy this requirement.
This objective is achieved by a base-positioning device unit having the characteristics specified in the enclosed claims.
The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention, and its advantages with respect to the known art, will appear even more evident from the following description, referring to the enclosed drawings, which show an embodiment of the invention itself. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a vertical sectional detail illustrating a known fixing system of a high base to the foot of a piece of furniture;
figure 2 is a section taken according to the line II - II of figure 1 ;
figure 3 is a view similar to figure 1 which shows how the same system of the known art cannot be applied to low bases (feet);
figure 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the positioning device according to the invention;
figures 5 and 6 are two perspective views, from the front and rear respectively, of the device of figure 4 assembled;
figure 7 is a raised view according to the arrow F of figure 8;
figure 8 is a raised view according to the arrow F1 of figure 7;
figure 9 is a raised view according to the arrow F2 of figure 8;
figure 10 is a plan view;
figures 11-16 are details illustrating the functioning of the positioning device according to the invention;
figures 17-19 illustrate the assembly phases of the positioning device on a high base;
figures 20-22 illustrate the assembly phases of the same positioning device of figures 17-19 on a base having a lower height (low);
figures 23-25 are vertical sectional details illustrating the positioning phases on a high foot of a base-positioning device produced according to the invention; and
figures 26-28 are vertical sectional details illustrating the positioning phases on a low foot of a base-positioning device produced according to the invention.

With reference first of all to figures 1-3 of the drawings, a piece of furniture is partially schematized with the number 30, for example a kitchen base, which is raised from the floor 31 by means of feet 32 fixed to a bottom panel 33 of the same piece of furniture.
The empty space thus created between floor 31 and bottom 33 is closed at the front and side by means of a base 34, with a yielding gasket G, which can have different heights.
One of the most widely-known systems for removably fixing the base 34 to the feet 32 envisages the use of a plurality of devices, each of which comprises a pair of elastically yielding opposite arms 35, that extend from the inner surface (not visible) of the base 34.
Said pair of arms 35 is fixed to a supporting plate 36 which is movably assembled on a guide 37 of the base 34.
The system described above can be applied to feet-bases having a certain height (relatively high), as illustrated in figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, but not for low feet-bases, as illustrated in figure 3.
The high feet, in fact, have a high column 38 to which the arms 35 can be click-engaged (figures 1 and 2), whereas with low feet (figure 3) the column 38 has such a limited height that the arms 35 cannot be applied.
The invention allows this drawback to be overcome.
The system according to the invention comprises the combination of a base 34 and a positioning device 40.
With reference to figures 4-16, said positioning device 40 is structurally composed of a supporting plate 41 provided with a collar 42 in which a substantially cylindrical and hollow piston 43 runs. Said piston 43 can be substituted by any other equivalent element.
The piston 43 is charged by a spring 44 housed in its interior and acting between a head 45 of the piston 43 itself and a stop 46 of the plate 41.
The stop 46 also has the function of guiding the sliding of the piston 43 by being inserted between diametrically opposite fissures 43' situated along the generatrices of the same piston 43.
A radial appendix 47 also extends from the head 45, whose function is explained hereunder.
As is clearly illustrated in figures 12, 14 and 16, in correspondence with said appendix 47, the piston 43 has an undercut 48 which is suitable for being click-coupled with an edge 49 of the plate 41, when the piston 43 is charged (pushed downwards).
For this purpose, above the collar 42, adjacent to it, there is a shaped ring 58 which causes the coupling between the undercut 48 and the edge 49.
The upward run of the piston 43 caused, as will be explained hereunder, by the spring 44, is, on the other hand, limited by teeth 29, positioned at the free end of the same piston 43, which are engaged against the collar 42.
The plate 41, on the surface opposite the collar 42, has a plurality of first coupling means suitable for being coupled to second complementary coupling means situated on the inner surface (not visible) of the base 34. Said first and second coupling means are arranged at different heights.
More specifically, said plurality of first coupling means comprise a pair of hooks 50 protruding from the top of the plate 41, said hooks 50 are suitable for being hooked to a channel-like profile 51 protruding from the inner surface of the base 34.
The plate 41 is also provided with one or more pairs of teeth 52, 52', positioned at different heights, below the hooks 50, suitable for being click-engaged (alternatingly) inside a complementary seat 53 of the base 34.
The functioning of the system according to the invention is evident from what is described above with reference to the figures and is briefly as follows.
The base-positioning device unit is pre-assembled, as illustrated in figures 17-22.
Figures 17-19 show the assembly phases of the base-device, in which the positioning device is assembled on a relatively high base.
The assembly is effected by first connecting the hooks 50 to the profile 51 (figures 17 and 18) with a downward movement indicated by the arrow 54, and then rotating the device 40 as indicated by the arrow 55, in order to engage the teeth 52' with the complementary seat 53 (figure 19).
In the case of a low base, as indicated in figures 20-22, the operation is identical, but the teeth that are engaged with the profile 53 are the teeth 52 instead of those 52'.
In this situation, the piston 43 is pushed downwards and engaged with the undercut 48, as indicated in figures 11-16 of the drawings, and the spring is charged as indicated in figures 13-16.
The unit thus obtained is positioned, with a movement according to the arrow 56 of figure 23, between the bottom panel 33 of the piece of furniture and the floor 31, as indicated in figures 23-28, and blocked there by the disengagement of the piston 43 from the undercut 48.
This disengagement can be actuated, for example, by acting with a screwdriver C in the direction of the arrow 57 (figures 24 and 27) on the radial appendix 47 of the head 45.
The firm positioning of the base 34 on the piece of furniture is obtained as a result of the thrust of the head 45 of the piston 43 against the bottom 33 of the piece of furniture, with consequent pressure of the gasket G on the floor 31.
This firm positioning is also ensured by a stopper T, made of a suitable soft material, applied to the head 45 of the piston 43.
Figures 23-25 illustrate the positioning of a base on a high foot, whereas figures 26-28 show the positioning of a base on a low foot.
In the embodiment of figures 26-28, a positioning device 40 provided with only one pair of teeth 52, is used.
The base 34 can be an aluminium profile, for example, but other materials are not excluded.
The base can be easily removed by lowering the piston 43, pushing the radial appendix 47 downwards.
The protection scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.

Claims

A base-positioning device unit (34, 40) for positioning said base (34) on feet (32) of pieces of furniture (30), of the type comprising in combination: a base (34) cooperating with a positioning device (40) equipped with a piston (43) acting between a rear panel (33) of a piece of furniture (30) and a floor (31) on which said feet (32) rest, characterized in that between said base (34) and said positioning device (40), there is a plurality of reciprocal engagement means (50, 51; 52, 52', 53) positioned at different heights.
The unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of reciprocal engagement means comprises coupling means (50,53) on the base (34) and coupling means (51, 52, 52') on the positioning device (40).
The unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said positioning device (40) is structurally composed of a supporting plate (41) equipped with a collar (42) in which said substantially cylindrical and hollow piston (43) runs, said piston (43) being charged by a spring (44) housed in its interior and acting between a head (45) of the piston (43) itself and a stop (46) of the plate (41).
The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the upward run of the piston (43), caused by the spring (44), is limited by teeth (29), present at the free end of the piston (43), which are engaged against the collar (42).
The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said plate (41) on the opposite surface with respect to the collar (42), has a plurality of first coupling means (51, 52, 52') suitable for being coupled with second complementary coupling means (50, 53) positioned on the inner surface (not shown) of the base (34).
The unit according to claim 5, characterized in that said plurality of first coupling means comprise a pair of hooks (50) protruding from the top of the plate (41), said hooks (50) being suitable for being hooked to a channel-like profile (51) protruding from the inner surface of the base (34).
The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said stop (46) guides the sliding of the piston (43) by being inserted inside diametrically opposite fissures (43') present along generatrices of the piston (43) itself.
The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that a radial appendix (47) extends from said head (45), in correspondence with which there is an undercut (48), which is suitable for being click-coupled with an edge (49) of the plate (41), when the piston (43) is charged (pushed downwards).
The unit according to claim 8, characterized in that above the collar 42, there is a shaped ring (58) which causes the coupling between the undercut (48) and the edge (49).
The unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said plate (41) is equipped with one or more pairs of teeth (52, 52') suitable for being click-engaged inside said complementary seat (53) of the base (34), said teeth (52,52') being positioned below said hooks (50) at different heights.