GB2057619A - Furniture fittings - Google Patents

Abstract

A corner piece 10 has fitments for a side wall 34 and a front or back wall (not shown), and an additional part or parts 16 that folds or fold to latchingly interengage with a wall formation, such as holes 36, without rotation of the walls concerned. The part(s) (16) has an integral stud or studs 24 to engage the hole or holes 36. The front or back wall is secured by screws passing through holes 40 and a bottom drawer is received in slots 42, 46 formed in the side wall 34 and member 10 respectively. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Furniture fittings The invention relates to furniture fittings and has particular reference to a fitting that readily permits parts to be coupled together as at a corner, for example in drawers.

There have been previous proposals for drawer corner pieces to interfit with extruded plastics panels spigot-and-socket fashion. Such a corner piece with a hinge has advantages in allowing drawer walls to be fitted by the corner piece and then rotated to the 900 position, especially with catch means to catch those parts in that 900 position. One advantage occurs in the fitting of a base board or sheet into grooving of the walls.

It will be appreciated that such spigot-andsocket interfitment for moulded walls is most conveniently done by parts of the corner pieces entering cavities of the walls, and then by other parts of the corner pieces themselves interengaging as the catch means at the 900 position.

This invention aims to provide an advantageous alternative to such a folding corner piece and, to that end, we now propose that a corner piece have fitments for two walls, usually a side wall and a front or back, and an additional part or parts that folds or fold to latchingly interengage with a wall formation without rotation of the walls concerned.

This proposal is conveniently embodied as a flap or flaps with an integral stud or studs that will engage in holes in a major surface of one of the walls, either as snap-fit or a simple interference fit, or a spreading fit as a peg, pin, nail or screw is tapped or driven home into each stud.

It is further proposed that a stud or studs integral with such a flap each be adapted to engage, preferably latchingly, to, preferably in, further part or component that itself is or is adapted to be fixed within a hole extending from a major face of one of the walls. One suitable such part or component comprises a plug having axially successive portions one to make a secure force fit in a said hole and the other resiliently to entrap a said stud when the latter is pressed thereinto.

One feature of embodiments of this invention is that the advantages, by way of structural integrity, of older style rigid corner pieces can be retained as the folding part or parts serves no purpose other than for latching and thus is very lightly stressed, if at all.

Clearly, such corner fittings may be used with extruded hollow plastics walling in normal spigotand-socket fashion but with the inner wall having said holes therein. Most conveniently, however, our preferred corner pieces are well-adapted for use with solid walls, for example of chipboard, normally plastics faced chipboard formed with blind said holes. Then, the fitment to that wall may be a tight fitting socket to embrace the wall end, preferably very closely as an interference fit.

Furthermore, the fitment to the other wall may then simply be by screwing through the base of said socket, leading to a most neat and effective corner piece fitting preferably with the flap as a part of one long wall of the socket, particularly that to be interior of a drawer.

This invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment; Figure 2 is a rear view of what is shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an inner side view; Figure 4 is a front view; Figure 5 is an exploded view of another embodiment; and Figure 6 is a sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 5.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 a corner fitting 10 comprises what is basically an elongated opentopped box having one side 12a,12b partially and medially cut away at 1 4. The cut away portion can however be substantially filled by a flap part 1 6 that is connected to base 1 8 by a chamfer style thinned portion 20 forming an integral hinge about which the flap part 1 6 can rotate towards and away from the cut-out 14.

The flap part 1 6 is shown with integral studs 22 actually of a truncated circular section ribbed at 24 on its curved peripherally.

The essentially C-shaped walling of the box, comprised of the one side parts 1 2a and 1 2b, ends 26 and 28, and the other side wall 30, is dimensioned as a socket to make a close, preferably gripping, fit over end 32 of a drawer wall 34, actually of foil-wrapped chipboard, which has blind holes 36 in it from its inner surface 38 to make a tight interference fit with the studs 22.

The socket thus forms the initial means of affixment to the drawer wall 34, the flap 1 6 and its studs 22 forming catch means for latching the drawer wall 34 in position in the socket by cooperation with holes 36.

The base 18 of the box form is shown apertured and countersunk at 40 for screw fixing to a drawer front or rear wall, in a most compact and convenient manner that is, furthermore, very readily moulded in one piece from synthetic plastics material.

The drawer wall 34 also exhibits an inner base board slot 42 for the drawer bottom and an exterior slide slot 44 in conventional manner. The base 1 8 of the box form has a slot 46 registering with the base-board slot 42, the flap part 1 6 also being cut back short of the side part 1 2b also to clear the drawer bottom.

It will be appreciated that the flap part 16 need not completely fill the space between the drawer bottom and the side part 16a. However, the basic structure is very well adapted to doing so, which is an advantage from an appearance and anti-dirttrapping point of view.

Alternative stud formations include a split form into which pins, pegs or screws can be tapped or driven to expand the stud within the wall holes 36.

Then, of course, the stud walls may have a terminal or medial swelling to latch them more effectively in the chipboard without damage to the facing layer.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6 like parts to those of Figures 1 to 4 have been given the same reference numerals for simplicity and will not be further described.

The flap part 1 6 is shown with integral studs 52 actually of a circular section headed at 54 on its free end. The drawer wall 34 has blind holes 56 in it from its inner surface 38 to make a tight interference fit with plugs 58 via end portions thereof (see Figure 6) having external saw tooth section ribs 60, 62 to resist removal once forced into holes 56.

Each of the plugs 58 has a cavity 64 extending away from a position within its ribbed portion, but short of at least the end most rib 60, to an entry 66 at the other end of the plug for a stud 52 forced past interior ledging 68 so as then to retain that stud 52. The plugs 58 are of moulded resilient plastics material and passage of stud heads 54 thereinto is facilitated by slitting 70 of side walling 72 about said cavities 64 and carrying said interior ledging 68.

It will be noted that the resilient latching side walling 72 is actually a clearance fit in the holes 56 in the drawer wall 34 and that the ribs 60, 62 are indicated as fitting into the sides of such holes 56 due to the resilience of the body material of the drawer wall 34. That is the preferred manner of securement to foil-wrapped chipboard, though screwing adhesives or self-tapping by the plug could be utilised if desired.

The socket afforded by the box form of the cover fitting comprises the initial means of affixment to the drawer wall 34, the flap 16 and its studs 52 into the plugs 58 forming catch means for latching the drawer wall 34 in position in the socket.

The base 18 of the box form is shown apertured and countersunk at 70 with oval holes for screw fixing in an adjustable manner to a drawer front or rear wall, in a most compact and convenient manner that is, furthermore, very readily moulded in one piece from synthetic plastics material.

Alternative plug formations include a partially split form that may even be undersize in the holes 56, to be spread by the studs 52 directly or even by way of pins, pegs or screws tapped or driven to expand a split said stud into retained engagement by a plug. Then of course, the stud and/or plug walls may have a swelling to latch them more effectively together and in the chipboard without damage to the facing layer.

Claims (12)

1. A furniture corner piece having fitments for two walls and an additional part or parts that folds or fold to latchingly interengage with a wall formation without rotation of the walls concerned.

2. A corner piece as claimed in claim 1 comprising a flap or flaps with an integral stud or studs that will engage in holes formed in a major surface of one of the walls.

3. A corner piece as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stud or studs snap-fit in said hole or holes.

4. A corner piece as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stud or studs is or are an interference fit in said hole or holes.

5. A corner piece as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stud or studs is or are a spreading fit in said hole or holes.

6. A corner piece as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein a stud or studs integral with the flap are adapted to engage to or in further part or component which itself is or is adapted to be fixed within said hole or holes.

7. A corner piece as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein fitment to the other wall is by a tight fitting socket to embrace the wall end.

8. A corner piece as claimed in claim 7 wherein securement of said socket to the wall end is by screws through the base of the socket.

9. A piece of furniture incorporating one or more corner pieces as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

1 0. A furniture drawer incorporating one or more corner pieces as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A corner piece substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A corner piece substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.