GB2286978A - Seal for the underside of a laminated work surface - Google Patents

Abstract

The underside edge of a laminated kitchen work surface or work top 1, in which a groove 3 is formed in the underside surface at or adjacent to said edge, is sealed by applying a rib 5 and a film 6 of water-impervious sealant to fill the groove and to extend over an adjacent edge region. The sealant may be a one-part polyurethane-reactive hot melt adhesive and is applied using a coating head having slots (13, 17, Fig. 2). The film 6 may extend into a second groove 4. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMINATED WORK SURFACES The present invention relates to improvements in laminated work surfaces and to methods for the production of such work surfaces.

Work tops are generally planar surfaces upon which manual operations may be performed and/or objects may be rested. A typical example is a kitchen work top.

Work tops are generally made from wood with a plastics layer laminated, or otherwise affixed, to the upper surface to provide an impervious work surface. The edges of the work top are similarly laminated with a plastics layer. However, unless there is an effective seal between the laminate on the upper surface and the laminate at the edge, water and other liquids can seep through any gaps at the edge portion of the work top and cause the plastics layer on the edge to detach itself from the work top.

A further problem lies in protecting the underneath surface or underside of a work surface or work top, which is normally not covered with a laminated plastics layer, from the ingress of moisture since if the core material becomes wet, the product can delaminate and be destroyed.

The present invention aims to provide a laminated work surface in which the edge of the underside of the work surface is provided with an effective seal to prevent the ingress of water or other liquid.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of sealing the underside edge of a laminated work surface or work top in which a groove is formed in the underside surface of the work surface or work top at or adjacent to said edge and in which a film of water impervious material is applied to said underside surface to fill said groove and to extend over an edge region of said underside surface adjacent to the groove.

By "underside surface" is meant the surface of a laminated work surface or work top which is intended in use to be located below the upper or working surface of the laminated product.

Preferably, the groove is provided at the edge of the underside of the work surface or work top. A second groove may be provided which is spaced from but located adjacent and substantially parallel to the firstmentioned groove.

The water impervious material desirably takes the form of an adhesive sealant which is heated to melting point and then applied along the edge region of the underside of a work surface or work top so that it flows into and fills the or each groove and extends over the underside of the work surface or work top for some distance from the edge. The sealant desirably forms a raised rib in the region of the or the first-mentioned groove. The adhesive material preferably comprises a one part polyurethane-reactive hot melt mixture which forms the raised rib at the same time as a coating for the edge region of the work surface or work top in a single operation.

Another aspect of the invention provides a machine for applying a coating of water impervious material to the underside edge of a work surface or work top having at least one groove at or adjacent to said edge, said machine having a head for applying the material and means for guiding the edge region of the underside of said work surface or work top past the head, wherein the head has at least one aperture which is adapted to produce a bead of material which runs into the groove and creates a raised rib in the region of the groove.

The rib is designed to create droplets of water if there is spillage over the top or front of the work surface or work top which drops will then fall away harmlessly and will not be absorbed into the core material of the work surface or work top.

The head is desirably provided with a second aperture which is adapted to apply a thin coating of sealant material to the underside of a work surface or work top behind the raised rib at the edge.

In the case of a work surface or work top having two grooves in its underside, the sealant material flowing through the second aperture serves to fill the second groove as well as to form the said thin coating. A second raised rib may be formed in the region of the second groove or, alternatively, the said second groove may not be filled completely so that the groove remains in the coating. In either case, should any water flow past the rib at the edge of the work surface or work top, the second rib or groove will also serve as a droplet forming point. The primary purpose of the second groove is however to key the sealant material to the core material of the laminated work surface or work top. The coating serves not only to prevent the ingress of water passing the rib at the edge of the work surface or work top but also to protect the edge region from moisture formed by condensation if, for example, the work surface or work top is located over a dishwasher or tumble dryer or the like.

The invention also extends to a work surface or work top having an edge region formed by the method or with the machine above described.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the edge region of a laminated work surface or work top having an underside edge seal applied according to the invention; and Fig. 2 is a vertical section through one embodiment of a head for applying sealant material to the edge region of the underside of the laminated work surface or work top shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a laminated work surface or work top consists of a core material 1 such as chipboard or the like over the upper surface and front edge of which is applied a water impervious laminate 2 of plastics material. A first groove 3 is formed at the edge of the material 1 in its underside not coated with the laminate 2 and a second groove 4 is also formed in the underside of the core material 1, the second groove 4 extending substantially parallel to but spaced from the groove 3.

A machine for applying a sealant material to the underside surface of the work surface or work top comprises means for guiding the said work surface or work top past a sealant applying head. The machine further includes means for heating the sealant material until it is liquid with a predetermined desired viscosity.

The sealant applying head comprises a pair of plates only one 11 of which is shown in Fig. 2 but the inner surface of the other plate is a mirror image of the inner surface of the said one plate. Both plates are provided with bores 12 for the reception of screws whereby the two plates can be secured together and mounted on the machine (not shown).

A channel 13 is formed by matching grooves in the plates and is connected at one end to a conduit leading from a vessel (likewise not shown) in which the sealant material is heated until it attains a desired viscosity.

A bore 14 leads from the other end of the channel to the lower face of the head to permit the sealant material to flow out of the head in the form of a bead which runs into the groove 3 and forms a raised rib 5 at the edge of the laminated work surface or work top.

A second channel 16 is also formed in the head by matching grooves in the plates and this channel is also connected at one end to another conduit leading from the sealant heating vessel. A narrow slot 17 extends down from the channel 16 to the lower face of the head to permit a thin film of sealant material to flow out of the head and form a thin "slot coat" 6 on the edge region of the underside of the work surface or work top.

As shown in Fig. 1, the coating flows into the groove 4 but it does not entirely fill the same so that a groove 7 is formed in the coating 6.

The head is desirably provided with adjusting means for regulating the flow of sealant material in order to control the height and extent of the rib 5 and the thickness of the coating 6. Moreover the configuration of the slot 17 may be modified if desired to form a second rib in the region of the groove 4.

It will be seen that, by means of the invention, the underside of a laminated work surface or work top may be effectively sealed and protected from the ingress of moisture and moisture "creep" in a single operation.

Claims (17)

1. A method of sealing the underside edge of a laminated work surface or work top in which a groove is formed in the underside surface of the work surface or work top at or adjacent to said edge and in which a film of water impervious material is applied to said underside surface to fill said groove and to extend over an edge region of said underside surface adjacent to the groove.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which the groove is provided at the edge of the underside surface of the work surface or work top.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which a second groove is provided which is spaced from but located adjacent and substantially parallel to the first-mentioned groove.

4. A method according to any preceding claim, in which the water impervious material comprises an adhesive sealant which is heated to melting point and then applied along the edge region of the underside surface of a work surface or work top so that it flows into and fills the or each groove and extends over the underside surface of the work surface or work top for some distance from the edge.

5. A method according to claim 4, in which the sealant. comprises a raised rib in the region of the or the first-mentioned groove.

6. A method according to claim 5, in which the adhesive material comprises a one part polyurethanereactive hot melt mixture which forms the raised rib at the same time as a coating for the edge region of the work surface or work top in a single operation.

7. A machine for applying a coating of water impervious sealant material to the underside edge of a work surface or work top having at least one groove at or adjacent to said edge, said machine having a head for applying the sealant material and means for guiding the edge region of the underside of said work surface or work top past the head, wherein the head has at least one aperture which is adapted to produce a bead of material which runs into the groove and creates a raised rib in the region of the groove.

8. A machine according to claim 7, wherein the head is provided with a second aperture which is adapted to apply a thin coating of sealant material to the underside of a work surface or work top behind the raised rib at the edge.

9. A machine according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the machine includes means for heating the sealant material to a predetermined temperature at which said material is liquid with a predetermined viscosity.

10. A machine according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the sealant applying head comprises at least one plate provided with a channel leading from a supply of sealant material to a lower face of the head to permit sealant material to flow out of the head in the form of a bead.

11. A machine according to claim 10, wherein a second channel is provided in said sealant applying head leading from said supply of sealant material to the said lower face of the head to form said thin coating of sealant material on the underside of said work surface or work top.

12. A machine according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the head is provided with adjusting means for regulating the flow of sealant material.

13. A method of sealing the underside edge of a laminated work surface or work top substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

14. A machine for applying a coating of water impervious sealant material to the underside edge of a work surface or work top substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.

15. A laminated work surface or work top having an edge region sealed by the method claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

16. A laminated work surface or work top having an edge region sealed by the machine claimed in any one of claims 7 to 14.

17. A laminated work surface or work top having an edge region substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.