GB2026645A - Furniture Joints - Google Patents

Abstract

A joint is made by having pieces (10, 12, 14) to be joined formed at and near their desired jointing with communicating holes (16 to 30), grooving, channeling or the like into and/or about which is introduced a flowable setting substance (38) usually by a casting or moulding operation. This simplifies jointing by reducing accuracy requirements and may also provide a decorative effect if desired. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Jointing The invention relates to the making of joints and has particular but not necessarily exclusive application to furniture making.

It has long been the case that dove-tail and other joints historically of a standard achieved only by craftsmen cabinet makers, have become rare indeed to find on modern furniture, mostly for reasons of cost. Even dowelled joints are currently losing favour to simple butting and adhesive, or block or strip reinforcement or even moulded plastics pieces via which screwed securement is made. Given this background at present, I believe there to be scope for a simple but secure jointing system that need not reveal itself immediately at least to the untrained eye or is utilisable with evidence of jointing both visible and decorative.

According to the invention there is provided a method of jointing wherein pieces to be joined have, at and near their desired jointing, communicating grooving, channelling, bores, through-holes or the like into and/or about which is introduced, usually as a cast or mould, a flowable setting substance, for example of or including a thermoplastic or curing resin mixture with, if desired, fillers and/or reinforcement perhaps in a fibrous form, such as chopped glass fibre.

In some embodiments, at least one of the pieces has a through-hole spaced from its jointing position and a communicating formation from that through-hole to another said piece or pieces.

In other embodiments, at least one of the pieces is, at and near the desired jointing, relieved and another said piece or pieces has or have a formation communicating with the relieving of the one piece.

In a preferred embodiment, for mutually perpendicular jointing of three said pieces, one piece has intersecting orthogonal through-bores and each of the other pieces has a blind end bore communicating with a through-hole therein.

In another preferred embodiment, for mutually perpendicular jointing of three said pieces, two pieces have end reductions each to communicate with a reduction of the other piece.

Both of these preferred embodiments are applicable to furniture generally, and chairs in particular. Their features may be combined either by end reductions of two pieces and throughboring the third piece to take such end reductions with clearance, or by taking one end reduced piece clear through the third piece and having the other piece with crossing through-bores one taking the end of the first piece.

The advantages of such an arrangement are manifest as moulds are readily made, usually for furniture being no more than flanking flat sheeting or boarding, and can be such as to leave the substance proud for removal on finishing the jointed parts or can be such as to inset such substance with the possibility of using a wood or other filler to finish off with an effectively hidden or a decorative jointing according to desired finish of the article concerned. Obviously, the substance may be readily coloured by incorporation of pigments or dyestuffs therein.

Particular embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figures 1 A to 1 C are views at right angles of a joint between three orthogonal pieces; Figures 2A and 2B are similar views of another such joint: Figures 3, 4 and 5 show further alternatives for such joints; and Figures 6 and 7 show a mitre-type joint In Figures 1Ato 1C, three mutually perpendicular framing members 10, 12 14 to be joined together are each formed with crossing through-bores 16 and 18, 20 and 22, 24 and 26, respectively, at a predetermined short spacing from their ends or faces to be joined, and the two pieces 10, 12 to be joined butts-on further have blind bores 28, 30 from their butt ends 32, 34 to the intersections of their crossing through-bores.

If the through-bores 16 and 20 are closed by mould shuttering at both ends, to cover exposed ends of bores 24 and 26, and the remaining through-bores 1 8 and 22 are closed only at one end, the interconnected bores 1 6 to 26 may be filled with a flowable setting substance 40 from the open end of either of the bores 18 and 22, the other then acting to allow expression of air. If desired, of course, such air expression may be provided for additionally or alternatively by small escape holes in the mould shuttering and sprues thereat subsequently removed. Obviously, introduction of the substance 38 may be via others of the through-bores with appropriate mould changes or modifications and may, if desired be done under pressure, say from a mastic gun or pump.

It will also be readily apparent that the indicated spacing of the butt ends 32, 34 from the member 14 may be dispensed with, though it does allow for accommodation of inaccuracies in end-squaring or lengths and/or permit achievement of a decorative result.

Also, mould accuracy requirements may not be too stringent if an abrading and material removing subsequent operation is envisaged or necessary.

Furthermore, fillets in the moulds could be made to fit the through-bore ends and/or any butt end spacings for subsequent filling as, if and how desired.

In Figures 2A to 2C, again three mutually perpendicular members 40, 42, 44 are to be joined. Now, however they are formed with end reductions 46, 48 for butt ends 52, 54 and a medial reduction 50 for the other member 44.

This may be achieved conveniently by simple turning operations that may, if desired, leave an inward deeper circumferential grooving wherever desired and shown at 56, 58 in the butt end reductions 46, 48. Again the reductions are all such as to intercommunicate when surrounded by mould shuttering and give adequate jointing with, in this case, a measure of interlocking of the members but again in a way tolerant of deviation from any exact specifications at least by undersizing relative thereto.

It has been found that suitable resins include those normally used in the fabrication and moulding of glass fibre articles but any other resins of inherently suitable strength, or reinforcable by inclusions to achieve suitable strength, may be used.

It is envisaged that incorporation of so-called chopped glass fibre is one highly attractive reinforcement, but other fibrous or even nonfibrous materials may be used as found to be satisfactory for the purpose.

Figure 3 shows a member 60 cross-bored at 62 64 each to take reduced ends, e.g. 66A (one only shown), of the other two members, e.g. 68A that is also through-bored 70 and blind-bored 72 for maximum intercommunication of jointing material 38".

Figure 4 differs from Figure 3 in that only one of the other members 68A' has a lipped end reduction 66A' but that passes clear through one (62) of the bores of the member 60 and the other member 68B' has one bore 74 to take the end of reduction 66A and another, lesser, keying bore 76 thereacross. Also, the bores 70 and 72 are not shown.

Figure 5 again has cross-boring 62, 64 but this time the ends such as 80, of the other members, such as 82, are not reduced, in fact exceed substantially the diameter of bores 62, 64 and are blind-bored or, as shown, routed across their ends to take the jointing material and depend on it for joint integrity.

Figure 6 shows a mitre joint, say for drawers, with bores 84, 86 down each piece 88, 90 and communicating slots 92, 94 to their mating surfaces, all to be filled with jointing material. If desired a reinforcing plate, sheet or web may traverse the intercommunicating slots usually, but not essentially, with clearance to accommodate jointing material. A suitable plate is shown at 96 apertured at 98 where it will lie within the bores 84, 86. Alternatively, expanded, perforate or mesh material may be used, usually of metal.

Figure 7 shows routed mitre joint with communicating routings 100, 102 which could be reinforced as for Figure 6 if required.

it will be noted that the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4 show significant interfitment of jointed members, as compared with Figures 1 and 2, especially in relation to Figure 4, and the end lipping can materially assist in this.

Blocks or bricks, whether of wood or other materials such as clay, could also be jointed and allow direct contact between adjacent courses and even adjacent bricks within each course, if their exposed surfaces or both of their opposed non-adjacent surfaces were formed with edge rebating to leave a central proud surface part, and the edge rebating filled with flowable setting material, say by a pressure gun. The overall effect would be of a conventional bricks and mortar wall appearance. Keying could be facilitated by undercuts of the sides of the central proud parts of the bricks. or blocks.

It will, of course, be appreciated that pressure guns could equally well be used with previously indicated and illustrated joints rather than resort to moulds.

Claims (17)

Claims

1. A method of jointing wherein each of the pieces to be joined has formed therein, at and near its desired jointing part, grooving, channelling, bores, through-holes or the like that, in the desired jointing, affords intercommunication through, past or in all of the pieces to be joined, and wherein a flowable setting substance is introduced into said intercommunication.

2. A joint formed by a method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pieces has a through-hole spaced from its jointing position and a communicating formation from that throughhole to another said piece or pieces.

3. A joint according to claim 2, wherein the or each communicating formation comprises a blind bore from the through-hole.

4. A joint according to claim 3, wherein the or each blind bore registers, in the desired jointing, with a bore in a said other piece.

5. A joint according to claim 4, wherein the last-mentioned bore is a through-hole in said other piece.

6. A joint according to claim 5 wherein, for mutually perpendicular jointing of three said pieces, one piece has intersecting orthogonal through-bores and each of the other pieces has a blind end bore communicating with a throughhole therein.

7. A joint according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the pieces is, at and near the desired jointing, relieved and another said piece or pieces has or have a formation communicating with the relieving of the one piece.

8. A joint according to claim 7, wherein said or each said formation is constituted by relieving of said other piece or pieces.

9. A joint according to claim 8, wherein the relieving produces overlap of at least two said pieces.

10. A joint according to claim 9, wherein for mutually perpendicular jointing of three said pieces, two pieces have end reductions each to communicate with a reduction of the other piece.

11. A joint according to claim 7,8 or 9, wherein the or each said relieving comprises a cross-sectional reduction central of the corresponding said piece.

12. A method according to claim 1 for making a joint according to any one of claims 2 to 11, including the steps of forming said through-holes, bores or relieving.

13. A method according to claim 1 or claim 12, further comprising assembling said pieces in the desired jointing position within shuttering to limit New claims or amendments to claims filed on 30 July 1979.

Superseded claims 1.

New or Amended Claims:-

1. A method of jointing wherein each of the pieces to be joined has formed therein, at and near its desired jointing part, bores, through-holes or recessing that, in the desired jointing, afford intercommunication through, past or in all of the pieces to be joined, and wherein a flowable setting substance is introduced into said intercommunication, said intercommunication affording entrance for the flowable setting substance and separate exit for air displaced by the introduction of the flowable setting substance.

flow of the setting substance.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the mould shuttering abuts at least some of the pieces beyond the jointing position.

1 5. A method or joint according to any preceding claim, wherein the flowable substance is a curing resin mixture.

1 6. A method or joint according to any preceding claim, wherein the flowable substance includes reinforcement distributed therethrough.

17. A method or joint according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcement comprises chopped glass fibres.

1 8. A joint substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

1 9. A joint substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 3 or Figure 4 or Figure 5.