FR2651103A1 - Modular architectural plastic indoor furniture - Google Patents

Abstract

Modular architectural plastic indoor furniture. Kinds of furniture made up of different modular components that can be combined and fitted on top of each other and are made of plastic or composite materials. These articles of furniture are placed against and fixed to the wall or walls and extend from the floor to the ceiling of rooms, thereby integrating with the architecture and creating an unusual space. By using appropriate modules it is possible to make an "audio visual wall" (Figure 1), a bookcase, a wardrobe, a dressing table, bathroom furniture and combinations of these functions. They can be fitted with shelves, doors, mirrors and other accessories. This kind of furniture is noteworthy in that it permits an original design, personalised combinations, a variety of uses and very low-cost industrial mass production.

Description

 The subject of the present invention is, as an industrial product, a new type of furniture. These pieces of furniture are made up of various modular elements with multiple complementarities, stackable and combinable between counterparts or of different types, in plastics or composite materials. They are applied and fixed against the wall or walls and extend from the floor to the ceiling of the living quarters to integrate into the architecture of the rooms.

 Depending on the modules chosen and the combinations provided, these pieces of furniture can be used as an "audiovisual wall", library, bookshelf, desk, cupboard, dressing table, bathroom furniture incorporating a sink or a shower or a toilet. , entrance furniture, interior garden and possibly for combinations between these functions.

 being current in the plastics industry makes it possible to economically produce in large series by thermoforming or by injection or by molding and / or by other processes parts of dimensions and qualities sufficient to envisage the manufacture of the modular elements constituting these furniture. their alveolus shape with vertical edges naturally gives them good rigidity which can however be improved by the choice of material and the addition of ribs.

 Non-limiting examples of embodiments are shown in Figures 1,2,3 and 4.

 Figure 1 shows an audiovisual wall located in the corner of a room: (1) is a module for loudspeakers, (2) module with built-in television, (3) module integrating Hifi and video elements, (4) shows the interior of a common module that can be used for storing cassettes, compact discs, books, etc. (5) full module adaptable to the height under the ceiling by cutting.

 Figure 2 shows an audiovisual wall located against a single wall.

 Figure 3 shows an example of a cabinet. Figure 4 shows a dressing table which by adding a sink can easily be transformed into a bathroom cabinet.

 These pieces of furniture can include hollow niches and possibly be fitted with doors, shelves, mirrors, interior or exterior lighting and holes for the evacuation of calories from electrical appliances, or other useful or decorative accessories. .

They may also include elements which are not made of plastics for making the connections: modules between them, modules on the walls, and modules with the accessories.

 This type of furniture is adjustable or adaptable in height possibly by cutting in order to fit into it with a slight clearance between the floor and the ceiling of the rooms where it is installed, but it can also have a height significantly lower for certain particular applications for example as furniture with WC

 this patent indicates that this type of furniture can be applied against a single wall of living rooms: living room, bedrooms, entrances, bathroom, sanitary or offices. But it rather recommends its positioning in the corners of these rooms for better use of space, a seemingly smaller footprint, and to break the monotony of traditional parallelepiped pieces. A new style of architectural space could be created in this sense.

 In its application in the corner of a room this type of furniture is not necessarily positioned at 450 of the walls at right angles (see Figure 5: top view of a module in a corner), it may be slightly offset on either side of this position to take account of any openings in the walls or of an orientation desired by the user; extreme positions of the support walls in (a) and (b).

 For the nonlimiting example of embodiment presented in this FIG. 5, the assembly and disassembly of the piece of furniture is very simple: The connection to the walls is made by means of vertical bars or ladders (6). These bars are first positioned by the bottom module and then fixed to the walls. the other modules are then plugged in or snapped onto them. On the other hand the modules are positioned between them by pins (7) located in their horizontal edges (8) in order to ensure good rigidity and continuity of their outer surfaces.

 When used as an audiovisual wall corm "the modules receive the elements of an audiovisual chain and can be fitted with conductors and inter and intramodular terminal blocks allowing a simple and instantaneous electrical connection of electronic devices even if they are located in different superimposed modules Another advantage of this invention is the possibility of placing these devices at a comfortable height for their use.

 As mentioned above, these pieces of furniture can also integrate a sink or a shower or a toilet. Besides the aesthetic character provided by these new pieces of furniture in this type of application, their interest is also a saving in tiling, better sealing due to plastic, the possibility of including accessories in cells or other shapes coming directly during the molding of the modules.

 In all these applications, this type of furniture has the advantage of hiding and protecting wires and pipes while allowing easy installation of elements possibly integrated by inspection doors.

It also has a great interest in terms of hygiene because, by leaning against the walls, it avoids projections and dust which accumulate behind traditional storage or sanitary furniture e it thus reduces cleaning tasks .

 The interest of the use of plastics for the realization of this type of furniture is the possibility of creating interesting aesthetic forms (for example a contemporary design less rigid than with wood), an elasticity allowing an adaptation of the edges of the modules the slight defects of the support walls, the creation of large series at very competitive prices, reduced maintenance, a sufficient service life by a possible addition of additives, the pleasant touch of certain plastics, the lightness, the phonic and thermal insulation which it will add to the support walls, the possibility of easy cutting for the adaptation to the height under ceiling and for the passage of possible plinths, the possibility of varied colors and decorations but also of painting or coating.

The advantages of modular elements are more precisely here:
-The possibilities of varied and personalized combinations while using standard elements produced in large series.

 - Smaller dimensions of the elements to be manufactured, assembled by the user, and transported. For transport it will even be possible to stack the modules using the skins which were necessary for their release.

 In summary, this new type of furniture with very varied uses is essentially remarkable in that it integrates furniture with architecture, creating an original space well suited to the exiguity of current rooms and to the contemporary way of life. I1 gradually overcomes the use of wood, the supply of which is likely to be a problem in the coming decades. It uses the qualities of plastics and the aesthetic and economic possibilities of using them in large series.

Claims (6)

 1) Type of plastic or composite furniture intended to be integrated into the architecture of living quarters, and characterized by their application and fixing against the walls, by their development from floor to ceiling, and in that they are made up of modular shell-shaped elements, varied, with multiple complementarities which can be superimposed and can be combined between counterparts or of different types  2) Type of furniture according to claim 1 characterized in that modules are provided for receiving the elements of an audiovisual chain. They then possibly include conductors and electrical inter and intramodular terminal blocks.  3) Type of furniture according to claim 1 characterized in that they are also suitable for use, depending on the modules chosen: shelf, cabinet, library, office, dressing table, entrance furniture, indoor garden, bathroom furniture incorporating a sink or shower or WC and possibly for combinations between these functions.  4) Type of furniture according to the preceding claims characterized in that certain modules are capable of comprising niches, shelves, doors, mirrors, lighting and other useful or decorative accessories.

 5) Type of furniture according to the preceding claims, characterized in that they are capable of comprising elements not made of plastic for the production of connections: modules with the walls, modules with one another. and modules with accessories.

 6) Next type of furnitureW $ es previous claims characterized in that the height of this furniture is optionally adjustable by cutting in order to stencas- trer to a slight clearance between lé-s-oI ete ceiling of living rooms, but they are also suitable for use with a significantly lower height.