GB2045077A

GB2045077A - Panel having a sink or other built- in element inserted into a cutout in the panel

Info

Publication number: GB2045077A
Application number: GB7943927A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Blanco GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Blanco GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1978-12-28
Filing date: 1979-12-20
Publication date: 1980-10-29
Also published as: BE880774A; EP0014247A3; DE2856461C3; FR2445123A1; DE2856461A1; DE2856461B2; EP0014247A2; GB2045077B; EP0014247B1

Description

SPECIFICATION Fixture unit consisting of a panel having a cutout, and a built-in element inserted into the cutout in the panel This invention relates to a fixture unit consisting of a panel and a built-in element, for example a built-in sink or cooker tray, wherein the panel has a cutout which is adapted to the shape of the built-in element and into which the built-in element is to be inserted. Many different forms of built-in elements of this kind are already known; in most of these the rim of the built-in element is laid on the panel, so that this rim engages over the edge of the cutout in the panel, and the built-in element is secured in the cutout in the panel by clamping means which are fastened to the lower face of the rim of the built-in element and which engage the lower side of the panel.This method of building-in is relatively expensive because it necessitates special fastening means and the securing of the latter to the built-in element. It is also known for built-in sinks to be adhesively bonded in cutouts in panels, but this has the disadvantage that it is difficult to remove the built-in element subsequently, and such removal will unavoidably result in damage to the panel and/or to the built-in element. Finally, a fixture unit of the kind defined above is known (DE-OS 24 26 720), in which an extruded plastics strip is fastened to the edge of the cut-out by introducing a plastics casting compound into a gap between the plastics strip and the edge of the cutout in order to bond the plastics strip to the edge of the cutout. The strip has an extension of L-shaped cross-section and together with this extension forms a channel which is open at the top and into which the rim of the built-in element is inserted, the rim being bent over outwards and then downwards. For sealing purposes a special sealing strip is required, which is inserted into the channel in the plastics strip and on which the rim of the built-in element is supported.This known way of building-in is relatively laborious and therefore expensive, since it is not only necessary to make a separate supporting strip but the sealing strip must also be made, while in addition special devices are required for bonding the supporting strip to the edge of the cutout in the panel. The problem underlying the invention therefore consisted in improving the building-in technique known from DE-OS 24 26 720 in such a manner that it can be put into practice more simply and less expensively, while retaining the advantage that the edge of the cutout in the panel is sealed. According to the invention there is provided a fixture unit comprising a panel and a built-in element, for example a built-in sink or a cooker tray, in which the panel has a cutout adapted to the shape of the built-in element and adapted to receive the built-in element, a strip which is fastened to the edge of the cutout by means of a castable plastics material and which has a supporting surface facing the upper side of the panel, supports on the rim of the built-in element and by means of which the built-in element can be laid from above on the supporting surface, characterised in that the strip with its supporting surface, is made of a plastics material which can be polymerised or condensed in situ and which becomes adhesively bonded to the edge of the cutout. Because the strip is moulded direct to the edge of the cutout, there is no need to manufacture a number of separate parts, and since there are available plastics materials which are suitable, such as for example silicone rubber and polyurethane foam, which also have the properties of a sealing material, the invention makes it possible not only to effect the sealing of the cut edge of the cutout, but also to seal the gap between the rim of the built-in element, such as a built-in sink, and the panel carrying the built-in element. Whereas in the building-in technique according to DE-OS 24 26 720 a portion of the extruded plastics strip must be cut to the correct length for each side of the cutout in the panel, and must then be bonded to the edge of the cutout, in a fixture unit according to the invention the strip is cast onto the edge of the cutout and no problem arises in simultaneously fitting all the sides of the cutout in the panel with the strip, so that in a preferred form of construction of the fixture unit according to the invention the strip forms a one-piece frame extending around the edge of the cutout. There would be no difficulty in embodying suitable reinforcements in the plastics material forming the strip, in practice this is not necessary, so that in the preferred fixture unit the strip consists solely of a castable plastics material. Polyurethane foam has been found particularly suitable for making the strip orframe, because it has great strength and adheres particularly well to the materials usually employed for the panels. Panels are preferred which have at least one layer of presspan or hardboard, on the cut edge of the cutout of which the frame is cast, because then the casting of the frame produces intimate interlocking between the material of the panel and the plastics material of the frame, so that the join is very strong and is able to carry without difficulty the built-in element, for example a built-in sink. In the known method of building-in according to DE Os 24 26 720, the built-in element is secured against being lifted out of the cutout in the panel by forming projections or a bead projecting from that region of the wall of the built-in element which extends downwardly from the rim region, these projections or this bead engaging under the extension of the L-shaped cross-section formed on the plastics strip. The known method of installation thus requires elastic yielding of the downwardly extending wall region of the built-in element. Because of the rigidity of the special steel sheet used for built-in sinks, cooker trays, and the like, this type of engagement is not very practicable.It is therefore proposed that in a fixture unit according to the invention, in which the strip or frame has a side wall provided with an undercut for the engagement of the built-in element, the strip or frame should be made of a plastics material whose elasticity is such that the region of the strip or frame forming the undercut is elastically resilient on insertion of the built-in element. It is thus unnecessary for the built-in element to be deformed for engagement in the panel of the fixture unit. The built-in elements usually have a rounding, that is to say a radius, at the edge of their upper surface. In such cases it is advisable to provide the frame with an elastic lip which engages over the rounding of the built-in elementformed by the radius. This lip then ensures a stepless and almost continuous transition from the panel to the built-in element, while the lip could in certain circumstances serve to secure the built-in element in the cutout in the panel. The supports of the built-in element, which can be placed from above on the supporting surface of the strip, may be in the form of feet disposed at intervals from one another along the rim of the built-in element; this is for example advisable when a glass-ceramic cooker tray is to be built-in, in which case supports, for example of inverted L shape, are adhesively bonded to the lower face of the glassceramic plate.The supports may however also be in the form of elongated rim parts which project downwardly, and which also form a frame. The supports could then simply be so arranged that they engage behind an undercut in one side wall of the strips. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the supports are provided with projections which are adapted to engage under the undercut, and these projections and/or the side wall of the strip may be so profiled that effective sliding surfaces are formed on the insertion of the built-in element from above, so that the engagement operation is facilitated. As already indicated, the frame according to the invention can be produced particularly simply and can be effectively fastened to the edge of the cutout in the panel by casting the frame in plastics material on the edge of the cutout, for which purpose a mould is fitted to the panel in the region of the edge of the cutout, the mould cavity corresponding to the shape of the frame. In order not to have to employ mould release agents, which would entail the danger that mould release agent would also reach the edge of the cutout and lead to a defective connection between the frame and the panel, it is advisable to use for the wall of the mould cavity a material which is self-separating in relation to the plastics material of the frame.In order to enable the frame to be easily released from the mould and to avoid having to work with complicated moulds, it is expedient to use an elastic material for the wall of the mould cavity, particularly a silicone rubber, which ensures that the wall of the mould cavity will be self-separating in respect of almost all plastics materials which may be used for the production of the frame. Two preferred forms of a fixture unit according to the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a plan view of the corner region of a built-in sink inserted into the cutout of a table panel; Figures 2 and 3 are sections through the built-in sink and table panel on the lines 2 - 2 and 3 - 3 in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section through a part of the mould and table panel after a frame has been cast in position, the section being taken in the region of the line 2 - 2 in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a section corresponding to Figure 4, but in the region of the line 3-3 in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a section corresponding to Figure 2, but showing a glass-ceramic cooker tray inserted into the cutout of a panel. Figures 1 to 3 show a table panel 10, which has a cutout 12 whose shape is generally rectangular.The edge of the cutout formed in the table panel itself is designated 14. To this edge of the cutout there adheres a frame indicated generally at 16, which, in the region of the corners of the cutout 12, has the profile shown in Figure 3, and between the corners has the profile shown in Figure 2. The frame 16 is made of polyurethane foam having a hardness between about 40 and 70 Shore-A, and has extending around it a channel 18, which is open at the top and the bottom of which forms a supporting surface. Between the corners of the cutout 12 the channel 18 has an undercut 22, formed by a nose 20, in that side wall of the channel 18 which is remote from the edge 14 of the cutout. In the region of the corners of the cutout 12 the channel 18 however has a simple rectangular profile, as can be seen in Figure 3. The built-in sink, is indicated generally at 30 has a basin 32 and of a rim 34 extending around the basin. Only part of the basin 32 and rim 34 are shown. This rim forms a horizontally-extending surface part 36 and a vertically-extending supporting part 38 which, between the corners of the built-in sink 30, is rolled-in at 40, as shown in Figure 2. This rolled-in portion forms an inwardly directed projection, which engages in the undercut 22 of the channel 18. At the transition between the surface part 36 and the supporting part 38 the rim 34 is rounded at R, over which rounded part R there engages an elastic lip 44 formed on the frame 16. As clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, the surfaces of the surface part 36 of the frame 16, and of the table panel 10 are flush with one another, that is to say there is nowhere a joint or step or a noteworthy gap, so that the table panel can be cleaned particularly easily and effectively, simply by wiping it over with a damp cloth in the direction of the basin 32. Good sealing between the built-in sink 30 and the table panel 10 is provided by the lip 44 formed on the frame 16and by the fact that the supporting part 38 of the built-in sink rim 34 lies all around on the bottom of the channel 18 and consequently provides reliable sealing there. The table panel 10 is made in the usual manner from a wood material, particularly in the form of a presspan board whose surface may be covered by a thin sheet of plastics material. Because the frame 16 is moulded on the edge 14 of the cutout in the table panel 10, as will be described below, the cut edge of the layer of wood material of the table panel is sealed, so that no moisture can penetrate into it. Figure 2 also clearly shows that because of the sliding surfaces which are formed by the nose 20 and the rolled-in portion 40, and which are effective during insertion and removal, the built-in sink 30 can easily be inserted into the cutout 12 and removed therefrom again, without damage. To ensure this it is merely necessary that that part of the frame 16 which forms the nose 20 should have sufficient elasticity, which is ensured by using the preferred material, polyurethane foam. Figures 4 and 5 show a method according to the invention for the moulding of the frame 16 on the edge 14 of the cutout in the table panel 10. A mould 60 is inserted into the cutout 12 in the table panel 10 in the manner shown in Figures 4 and 5. The mould consists of a bearer 62 and a mould insert 66 of silicone rubber, the insert 66 forming a mould cavity wall 64. The mould insert forms a web 68 which extends around the channel 18 and whose profile corresponds at all points to that of the channel 18. The table panel 12 is laid with its upper face over the mould 60, and then the space between the edge 14 of the cutout and the mould cavity wall 64 is filled with polyurethane foam, which seals the edge 14 of the cutout and, after curing, adheres firmly thereto.Because of the separating properties of the silicone rubber used for the mould insert 66 and of the elasticity of this material and also of the polyurethane foam used for the frame 16, the table panel 10 together with the frame 16 moulded to it can then easily be removed from the mould. The subsequent position of the rim 34 of the built-in sink 30 has been shown in dash-dot lines in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 6 shows an edge region of a glass-ceramic cooker tray 30' inserted into a cutout 12' in a table panel 10', the same reference numerals as are used in Figures 1 to 3 being used here for parts corresponding to the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, but with the addition of a prime. Only the differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be described. The cooker tray 30' comprises a glass-ceramic plate 32', to the bottom of the edge region of which a supporting frame 38' is fastened by means of an adhesive 33'. This supporting frame preferably consists of special steel sheet and has a profile of inverted U-shape, the outer leg of which has a rolled-in portion 40' which engages behind the nose 20' of the frame 16'. The edge of the plate 32' is rounded at R', or has a chamfer, or the like, over which engages an elastic lip 44' on the frame 16'.

Claims

1. Afixture unit comprising a panel and a built-in element, for example a built-in sink or a cooker tray, in which the panel has a cutout adapted to the shape of the built-in element and adapted to receive the built-in element, a strip which is fastened to the edge of the cutout by means of a castable plastics material and which has a supporting surface facing the upper side of the panel, and on the rim of the built-in element and by means of which the built-in element can be laid from above on the supporting surface, characterised in that the strip with its supporting surface, is made of a plastics material which can be polymerised or condensed in situ and which becomes adhesively bonded to the edge of the cutout.

2. A fixture unit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the strip forms a one-piece frame extending around the edge of the cutout.

3. A fixture unit according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the strip consists entirely of a castable plastics material.

4. A fixture unit according to Claim 2, characterised in that the frame is a one-piece casting.

5. A fixture unit according to Claim 2, characterised in that the frame is made of polyurethane foam.

6. A fixture unit according to Claim 1, in which the strip has a side wall with an undercut for engaging the built-in element, characterised in that the strip is made of a plastics material whose elasticity is such that the undercut yields elastically when the built-in element is inserted.

7. A fixture unit according to Claim 6, in which the built-in element is provided with a radius at the edge of its upper side, characterised in that the frame has an elastic lip engaging over the curve formed by the radius. 8. A fixture unit according to Claim 6, in which the strip has a channel which is open in the direction of the upper side of the panel and the bottom of which forms the supporting surface, characterised in that the channel is provided on its side remote from the edge of the cutout with a side wall having an elastically resilient undercut, and that the supports of the built-in element are provided with projections projecting in the direction of the interior of the cutout and adapted to engage under the undercut. 9. A fixture unit according to Claim 8, in which the rim of the built-in element is bent over downwardly and forms the supports, characterised in that the supports are smooth in the region of the corners of the built-in element and between the corners are rolled-in at their free edge in order to form the projections, and that the channel of the frame has a simple U-shaped cross-section in the region of the corners of the cutout.

10. A method of producing a fixture unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the region of the edge of the cutout a mould is fitted against the panel, the cavity of which mould is shaped to correspond to the shape of the frame, and the frame is cast from a plastics material against the edge of the cutout. 11. A method according to Claim 10, characterised in that a material which is self-separating in relation to the plastics material of the frame is used for the wall of the mould cavity.

12. A method according to Claim 11, characterised in that an elastic material, particularly a silicone rubber, is used for the wall of the mould cavity.

13. A fixture unit substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1,2 and 4, or Figures 1,3 and 5 or Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of producing a fixture unit according to Claim 13, substantially as herein described. New claims or amendments to claims filed on

24.4.80 Superseded claims 1-4 New claims:- 1-4 1. A fixture unit comprising a panel and a built-in element, for example a built-in sink or a cooker tray, in which the panel has a cutout adapted to the shape of the built-in element and adapted to receive the built-in element, a strip which is fastened to the edge of the cutout by means of a castable plastics material and which has a supporting surface facing the upper side of the panel, and on the rim of the built-in element and by means of which the built-in element can be laid from above on the supporting surface, characterised in that the strip with its supporting surface comprises castable plastics material which has been solidfied in situ and thereby become adhesively bonded to the edge of the cutout during solidification.

2. A fixture unit according to Claim 1, characterised in that the strip forms a one-piece frame extending around the edge of the cutout. 3. A fixture unit according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the strip consists entirely of a castable plastics material.