GB2114253A

GB2114253A - Corner joint for panels

Info

Publication number: GB2114253A
Application number: GB08302002A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Robertson; Stanley Sadler
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-01-29
Filing date: 1983-01-25
Publication date: 1983-08-17
Also published as: GB8302002D0; GB2114253B

Abstract

This invention relates to a panelled structure comprising at least two adjoining panels 4 connected at a corner joint therebetween by a corner joint fixing 7 comprising two body members 8 and an engagement means 19, 22 drivingly engageable with said body members 8 to clamp them together and securely clamp the mitred edges 5 of said panels 4 together. The invention also provides a joint fixing particular suitable for use in the above form of construction. The fixing 7 comprises two body members 8 and an engagement means comprising a clamping member 19 and a securing member 22 drivingly engageable therewith. The clamping member 19 having two opposed inclined cam surfaces 18 converging generally towards the corner engageable with substantially correspondingly inclined cam surfaces 17 on the inner sides of the body members 8 so as to draw them towards each other as said clamping member 19 is clamped against said inner sides of said body members 8 by said securing member 22. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Corner joint fixing and use thereof This invention relates to panel structures made up of a plurality of panels jointed together at an angle to each other at one or more corners and to corner joint fixings for use therein.

In order to simplify furniture construction and reduce iabour costs a considerable amount of furni ture made these days, especially of the so-called knock-down type which can be stored and transported in a dis-assembled or so-called "flat-pack" condition, uses discrete fixings in the construction of corner joints between adjoining panels. This avoids the need for precise and time consuming cutting of the panel edges and jointing of the panel edges themselves. instead the panel edges are left substantially unprocessed and the joint effected by simply connecting together two body members which have been previously secured to respective ones of the panels at or in close proximity to the edges thereof.

This type of joint is however suitable only for forms of construction in which all the corner joints are right angle ones and is not suitable for those forms of construction, for example coffins, where it is desirable or necessary to have corner joints with angles larger than 90 or possibly smaller than 900.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a panelled structure having at least one corner joint having an included angle of less than or greater than 90".

Known corner joint fixings are suitable only for the abovementioned butt-type right-angle corner joints.

Although these can be quite strong their aesthetic appearance is rather less satisfactory than that of mitred corner joints for which suitable fixings are however noot available.

It is therefore also an object of the present invention to provide a new form of corner joint fixing particularly suitable for use in the construction of mitred corner joints, preferably for corners differing in angle from 90" as well as for right-angled joints.

The present invention provides a corner joint fixing suitable for use in the construction of a corner joint between two adjoining panels in a knock-down type panel construction panelled structure, which fixing comprises two body members formed for securing to respective ones of said panels at or in close proximity to the corner in use of the fixing, a clamping member, said clamping and securing members being engageable, in use, with inner and outer sides of said body members disposed inwardly towards and outwardly away from said corner respectively, said clamping member having two opposed inclined cam surfaces converging generally towards the corner in use of the fixing, and engageable, in use, with substantially correspondingly inclined cam surfaces on the inner sides of respective ones of said body members so as to draw said body members towards each other as said clamping member is clamped against said inner sides of said body members by said securing member upon driving of the latter.

The invention also provides a panelled structure comprising at least two adjoining panels connected art a corner joint therebetween, said panels being secured together at said corner joint by a corner joint fixing of the invention, each of the body members of said fixing being secured to a resepctive one of said panels at or in proximity to the edges of said panels at said corner joint, said clamping member and said securing member being engaged with each other and with the inner and outer sides of said body members respectively, the cam surfaces of said clamping member being firmly clamped against the respective cam surfaces of the body members so that said body members are tightly drawn together to tightly clamp the edge daces of said panels or respective ones of a face edge and an edge face, together at said corner.

In a further aspect the present invention provides a method of constructing a panel structure according to the present invention comprising the steps of securing said body members of the fixing to the panels adjacent their edges at positions substantially opposed to each other on either side of the corner joint, supporting the panels with said edge faces respective ones of a face edge and edge face, in contact wiTh each otherfor'orming a corner, engaging said securing member with said clamping member whilst said clamping and securing members are engaged with respective ones of the inner and outer sides of the body members, and driving said securing member so as to firmly clamp the cam surfaces of the clamping memher against the cam surfaces of the body members to draw them to- wards each other to tightly clamp said face edges or respective ones of an edge face and face edge, of said panels together at said corner.

By means of the present invention it is possible ze construct mitred and other corner joints and furni- ture of improved appearance using various mate riais including manufactured particle boards, in a simple and economic manner.

Further preferred features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description given by way of example of a preferred embodiment illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a chipboard construction coffin without lid) using preferred fixings of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one corner joint of the coffin of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of a modified corner joint; and Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation of a further corner joint.

Fig. lisa plan view of a coffin 1 (with the lid removed) constructed from a plurality of chipboard panels 2 including an irregular hexagonal base 3 with square edges and rectangular side wall panels 4 with mitred side edges 5 and square top and bottom edges, adjacent mitred side edges 5 forming mitred coi;;asr joints 6. At each such corner joint 6 the adjoining panels 4 are rigidly held together by two corner joint fixings 7.

As may be seen more clearly in Fig. 2 each corner joint fixing 7 comprises wo body members 8 each secured to a respective panel 4 adjacent a mitred edge 5, by means of screws 9 or other fixing means.

Each body member 8 has a generally wedgeshaped form with an outer face 112 which is mounted on the inside face 13 of a respective panel 4. The inside edge 14 of the body member may be extended (as in the modified embodiment shown in Fig. 3) in the form of a flange provided at its free edge with a male or female formation 24 for mating engagement with a complementary formation 25 on the other body member so as to prevent relative movement along the length of the joint 6.

An outer side 15 of the body member 8 extends at right-angies to a line ,Y-X bisecting the corner angle and this is inclined to the outer face 12 of the body member at an angle equal to the complement of half the corner angle.

An inner face 16 of the body member 8 faces the inner face of the other body member 8 and extends generally parallel to the centre-line X-X of the corner. Facing inwardly into the corner and adjacent the inner face 16 is an inner side portion 17 which extends at an acute angle to the corner centre-line X-X constituting a cam surface engageable by a respective correspondingly inclined cam surface 18 of a clamping member 19.

The clamping member 19 is generally plate-form with a central threaded bore 20 for receiving the threaded shank 21 of a bolt or screw-form securing member 22 whose head 23 engages the outer side 15 ofthe two body members 8 on either side thereof.

On either side of said bore 20 and spaced laterally therefrom, the clamping member 19 is inclined away from the cornerto provide said inclined cam surfaces 18 which each engage a cam surface 17 of a respective body member 8. As the securing member 22 is driven into the clamping member 19 the latter is clamped tightly against the inner side portion 17 of the two body members 8, the inclined cam surfaces 18 of the clamping member 19 acting on the cam surfaces 17 of the body members 8 to draw the body members 8 inwardly towards each other thereby clamping the mitred edges 5 of the panels 4 tightly against each other.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described fixing and construction without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus for example the fixings may be used with panels of various other materials including plastics, metal or even building materials if desired. The fixings themselves are conveniently made of plastics materials for example PVC or high density polyethylene or polypropylene. Alternatively they could be made of metal e.g. steel or brass or any other suitable material. In the case of coffins constructed according to the present invention the fixings are desirably made of combustible plastics or other material which meets the requirements of cremation authorities.

it may also be seen that the fixing of the invention may be used in the construction of mitred corners of various angles, including corners with included angles ranging from 60 to 1700, bysimply modifying the angles between the outer face, outer side and inner side portion cam surface of the body member and the inclination of the cam surfaces of the clamping member.With respect to the cam surfaces it will be appreciated that these should be at an appreciable acute angle to the corner centre line to enable the clamping member be clamped with an appreciable force against the body member cam surfaces, the angle at the same time being sufficiently less than 90 to provide for exertion of a laterai force drawing the body members towards each other. In general the angle should be of from 30 to 60 preferably 45 . Furthermore the fixing of the invention may also be employed in buti-t;pe corner joints as between the base 3 and side panels 4 of the above described coffin.In this case it will be appreciated that it will normally be necessary to secure the side wall conerjoints before finally securing the base-to-side wall corner joints to avoid problems arising from displacement of the side walls relative to the base.

In Fig. 3 like parts have been indicated by like reference numbers corresponding to those used in Figs. 1 and 2. The construction shown in Fig. 3 is substantially similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that in addition to the use of the locating formations 24 to 25 which facilitate the correct positioning of the various panels priorto the final securing of the clamping member 19, the shape of the latter is slightly different being in fact almost V-shaped with a relatively small centrai portion 26 and rather longer angled side arms 27 which bear the cam surfaces 18 of the clamping member 19.

As already indicated above the fixings of the invention may be readily adapted to suit corner joints of different angles by simply having the outer face 12 of the body member 8 at a suitable angle. In the case of particularly large corner angles it may be convenient however to truncate the outer corners 28 of the body members 8 as shown in Fig. 1.

As already indicated above, whilst the corner fixings of the present invention are particularly suited for use with mitred corner joints, their use is not limited to such joints and they may be used with butt-type corner joints-for example between the base 3 and side panels 4 of a box. In such cases it may be desirable though to modify the disposition and angles of inclination of the inclined cam surfaces 17 of the body members 8 and the corresponding cam surfaces 18 on the clamping members 19 in order to obtain an optimum application of forces to the component panels. In certain cases, for example, between base and side panels where the joint may be subjected to high asymmetrical loading (i.e.

predominantly on the base}, it may also be desirable to increase the mechanical strength of the joint and the support for the base by providing a degree of mechanical interlocking between the panels themselves, for example, via respective tongue-and groove formations on the panels. One example of such a joint and fixing is shown in Fig. 4 wherein like parts are indicated by like reference numbers.

As shown in the drawing the outer edge face 31 of the base panel 3 has a generally ridge-shaped tongue 32 formed for nesting engagement in a complementary generally V-shaped-section groove 33 in the face edge 34 (near its bottom) of the side panel 4 on the inside face 35 of the latter. Thus the base 3 is supported by the tongue 32 engaging in the side panel in addition to support obtained through the corner joint fixing 8, 19,22 etc. As may be seen the two body members 8a, 8b are symmetrical so that the line of action of the driving bolt 22 providing the clamping action is displaced from the corner joint between the base and side panels 3, 4 to pass above it in order to obtain a more effective clamping together of the panels having regard to the non-symmetrical loading thereof and the form and disposition of the mechanical interlocking between the panels themselves.

Claims

1. A corner joint fixing suitable for use in the construction of a corner joint between two adjoining panels in a knock-down type panel construction panelled structure, which fixing comprises two body members formed for securing to respective ones of said panels at or in close proximity to the corner in use of the fixing, a clamping member, said clamping and securing members being engagable, in use, with inner and outer sides of said body members disposed inwardly towards and outwardly away from said corner respectively, said clamping member having two opposed inclined cam surfaces converging generally towards the corner in use of the fixing, and engagable, in use with substantially correspondingly inclined cam surfaces on the inner sides of respective ones of said body members so as to draw said body members towards each other as said clamping member is clamped against said inner sides of said body members by said securing member upon driving of the latter.

2. Afixing as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said body members is provided with a locating portion formed and arranged on the inner side of the body member so as to extend into said corner, in use, and engage the locating portion of the other of said body members so as to substantially prevent relative movement between said body members in a direction extending longitudinally of the joint.

3. A fixing as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each said body member has a first, outer, face for securing to a said panel, a second, inner, face disposable in opposed relation to the second inner face of the other body member, an outer side portion extending generally at an angle to said first outer face similar to the complement of half the included angle of the corner, and an inner side portion providing a said cam surface of the body member which side portion extends at an acute angle to a line bisecting the corner angle.

4. Afixing as claimed in claim 3 wherein said acute angle is from 30 to 60 .

5. Afixing as claimed in claim 4wherein said angle is 45 .

6. Afixing as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said clamping member has a central threaded bore disposable, in use, along a line bisecting the corner angle and wherein said securing means in in the form of a bolt.

7. A fixing as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each said body member has a first, outer, face for securing to a said panel, a second, inner, face disposable in opposed relation to the second inner face of the other body member, an outer side portion extending generally at an angle to said first outer face, said angles of said members together corresponding approximately to the complement of the included angle of the corner, said angle of one said member being larger than said angle of the other of said members, and an inner side portion providing a said cam surface of each body member extending at an acute angle to the line of action of said securing member which line extends generally at right angles to said outer side portions through at least one said panel in the vicinity of said corner joint.

8. A panelled structure comprising at least two adjoining panels connected at a corner joint therebetween, said panels being secured together at said corner joint by a corner joint fixing according to claim 1, each of the body members of said fixing being secured to a respective one of said panels at or in proximity to the edges of said panels at said corner joint, said clamping member and said securing member being engaged with each other and with the inner and outer sides of said body members respectively, the cam surfaces of said clamping member being firmly clamped against the respective cam surfaces of the body members so that said body members are tightly drawn together to tightly clamp the edge faces of said panels or respective ones of a face edge and an edge face, together at said corner.

9. A panelled structure as claimed in claim 8 wherein said corner joint is mitred, said panel edges being mitred.

10. A panelled structure as claimed in claim 8 wherein said corner joint is a butt-joint.

11. A panelled structure as claimed in claim 10 wherein abutting edge face and face edge portions of said panels have respective elements of a tongue-and-groove joint.

12. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11 wherein said panels are of a manufactured particle board.

13. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12 which is a piece of furniture.

14. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13 which is a coffin.

15. A method of constructing a panel structure according to claim 8 comprising the steps of securing said body members of the fixing to the panels adjacent their edges at positions substantially opposed to each other on either side of the corner joint, supporting the panels with said edge faces or respective ones of a face edge and edge face, in contact with each otherforforming a corner, engaging and securing member with said clamping member whilst said clamping and securing members are engaged with respective ones of the inner and outer sides of the body members, and driving said securing member so as to firmly clamp the cam surfaces of the clamping member against the cam surfaces of the body members to draw them towards each other to tightly clamp said face edges or respactive ones of an edge face and face edge, of said panels together at said corner.

15. A method according to claim 15 wherein said panel edges are mitred and the panels are supported and secured together with mitred edge daces of adjacent panels in contact with each other.

17. A corner joint fixing substantially as ae- scribed hereinbefore with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, Figs. 1 and 3, or Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying 1 and4oftheaccompanying drawings.

18. A panelled structure substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 or Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

19. A method of constructing a panelled structure substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 or Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.