GB2405825A

GB2405825A - Adjustable worktop jig

Info

Publication number: GB2405825A
Application number: GB0425988A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Victor Piciorus
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-11-25
Filing date: 2004-11-25
Publication date: 2005-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 2024-11-25
Also published as: GB0425988D0; GB0515798D0; GB2405825B; GB2413106B; GB2413106A

Abstract

A jig 10 for use in cuffing or routing complementary male and female profiles on lengths of worktop includes a guide slot 12 and sets of labelled location holes 14, 16, 18 for aligning the slot at a desired angle by inserting locating pins into the relevant holes. In this way, male and/or female profiles can be cut at incrementally adjusted angles to produce a joint with a nominal angle of e.g. 90{ or an adjusted angle, perhaps to allow for out of true walls (see figs. 4 and 5). A further embodiment includes arcuate slots (214, 216, 218, fig. 8) in place of the location holes, with a plate (220, fig. 8) having a datum edge (222, fig. 8) which can be slidably mounted in each arcuate slot to allow adjustable angular movement in order to align the jig with a workpiece.

Description

Adiustable Worktop Jiq This invention relates to an adjustable worktop jig

for use in cutting or routing complementary male or female profiles on respective first and second worktop pieces to allow a jointed worktop surface to be made up by assembling the first and second worktop pieces with their complementary profiles adjacent or abutting. This technique is used in many situations including, but not limited to, kitchen worktops.

In such arrangements, the worktop jig acts as a template guide for producing two matched joining surfaces which can be achieved with a hand router and a straight cutter.

It is known to provide a worktop jig for producing female and male joints for kitchen and bathroom worktops. The worktop jig comprises a flat board with a profiled slot of suitable cranked "J" or "hockey stick" profile, together with a series of holes designed to receive location or aligning pins. The location or aligning pins are pushed into specific holes in the jig which allow the jig to be aligned against the edge of the worktop itself, positioning the cutting slot correctly in order to produce an accurate 90 or a 45 join. There are many versions of this type of jig on the market.

However, the existing worktop jigs can only produce the above set angles. This is a problem because many instances, the internal angle of two adjacent walls may be slightly different from the nominal 90 . In this instance the user must resort to trial and error by nudging the worktop jig in the appropriate direction and then clamping it, without the benefit of an accurate alignment position. This is far from preferred because it is imprecise and can easily result in wasted time or material, or a poor end result.

There is therefore a need for a worktop jig which allows worktop surfaces to be cut accurately to provide a worktop joint at other than the nominal 90 and 45 .

Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides a worktop jig for use in cutting or routing complementary male and female profiles in respective first and second lengths of worktop, said jig including: at least one guide slot defining at least one guide surface for cutting or routing said male and female profiles, primary male location means for being used to align said jig on said first length of worktop at a primary alignment angle to allow a primary angle male profile to be cut or routed, primary female location means for being used to align said jig on said second length of worktop at a primary female alignment angle to allow a primary female angle profile to be cut or routed, whereby in use, after cutting or routing, said first and second lengths may be assembled with their complementary profiles abutting or adjacent to form a joint with a primary joint angle, said worktop jig further including at least one secondary location means associated with at least one of said male and female primary location means for being used to align said jig at an incrementally adjusted angle relative to said associated primary angle, to allow a corresponding profile to be cut or routed which is angularly spaced from said primary angle, whereby in use said first and second lengths may be assembled to form a joint with a joint angle which is incrementally adjusted relative to said primary joint angle.

The guide slot may typically comprise a straight position and a cranked portion, each of which are used in forming said male and female profiles. The jig may be used for situations where the walls are square, but easily adjusted to particular out of true angles.

The location means typically comprise a location hole for receiving a location pin. Preferably each primary and secondary location means comprises a set of two or more holes. Thus said primary and secondary male location means may each comprise a set of two holes, whereas said primary and secondary female location means may each comprise a set of three holes.

Although I do not exclude the possibility of there being just one series of secondary location means associated with just one of the male and female primary location means, it is preferred for these to be both male and female secondary location means.

In another aspect, this invention provides an adjustable angle joining jig comprising of sets of aligning holes to utilise location pins which when used can adjust the workshop jig joining aperture to a set angle.

Embodiments of the invention provide a jig where an angle of the male/female joins can be achieved other than, and including, 90 and 45 . In preferred embodiments a required joint angle can be achieved by selecting a suitable combination of set male and female angles.

In another aspect there is provided a worktop jig for use in cutting or routing complementary male and female profiles on respective first and second lengths of worktop, said jig including: at least one guide slot defining at least one guide surface for cutting or routing said male and female profiles, an angularly adjustable datum surface mounted for adjustable angular movement on said jig to allow pre-set alignment of the jig with a work piece.

The invention will now be described by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic top plan view of a first embodiment of worktop jig in accordance with this invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of worktop jig in accordance with this invention; Figure 3 is an under plan view of the worktop jig shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a plan view of an example of an out of square wall arrangement; Figure 5 is a top plan view showing the angularly adjusted joint lines required to fit a worktop surface against the walls shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a drawing indicating a range of angles from 87 to 93 achieved using the embodiment of worktop jig shown in Figures 2 and 3; Figure 7(a) to (e) are drawings illustrating the steps in forming the male and female joints for an included angle of 88 ; Figure 8 is a schematic top plan view of a third embodiment of worktop jig in accordance with this invention, utilising an angularly adjustable location plate; Figure 9 is a detailed section view on the attachment of the location plate to the jig; Figure 10 is a schematic view showing formation of a male joint at an incrementally adjusted angle relative to the nominal 90 and Figure 11 shows a typical male and female joint made using the attachment.

Referring initially to Figure 1, the jig 10 in this embodiment comprises a generally rectangular board having a profiled cutting/routing slot 12 provided therein. A series of sets of female location holes 14 is provided. The series includes a set of three location holes designed to align the slot at a nominal 90 ; three holes designed to align the slot at an incrementally adjusted angle of 91 ; three holes designed to align the slot at an incrementally adjusted angle of 92 , and two holes designed to align the slot at an incrementally adjusted angle of 89 . By inserting the location pins in the relevant holes therefore the female profile may be cut for a nominal 90 joint, or for the incrementally adjusted angles of 89 , 91 or 92 .

Likewise there is a series of sets of male location holes 16 which may be again used in conjunction with location pins to allow the jig to be rotated a. either the nominal 90 position or at an incremental variance with respect thereto. At 18 the jig is provided with a set of location holes to allow incremental adjustment from a nominal 45 joint. Here the incremental adjustment is 44 , 45 and 46 .

It will be noted that both the female joint and the male joint may be adjusted incrementally and so using a combination of a female angle with a male angle, different combined angles can be achieved.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, a second embodiment of worktop jig is shown which, in this instance, allows incremental adjustment of the nominal 90 joint angle only (instead of both the 90 and 45 angles). As previously, the jig comprises a guide slot 112, a series of sets of female location holes 114 t and a series of sets of male location holes 116 (see Figure 3). In this embodiment, angular adjustment from a nominal 90 joint angle is possible in steps of 0.5 from 87 (3 below) to 93 (3 above). It should be noted that the l female location holes include a set of nominal 90 holes (0 ) and then sets of; angular increment holes of -0.5 , plus 0.5 and +1 which correspond to 89.5 , I 90.5 and 91 . The sets of male location holes include a set of nominal 90 holes (0 ) and then sets of angular increments holes of -2.5, -0.5 and +2, corresponding to 87.5 , 89.5 and 92 .

Figure 4 shows a typical example of a room with out of square walls with corner angles of 93.0 and 87.5 . It should noted that although an out of square i angle of 3 does not appear to be a large, over a worktop length of three metros, the out of square distance or gap would be 1 57mm. The out of square distance (d) can be determined trigonometrically, knowing the out of square angle (alpha) and the length (I) of the worktop, according to the formula d=l. tan alpha.

Figure 5 shows how the cuts on the three worktop lengths could be made in order to accommodate the out of square walls. Thus the left hand female joint might have an increment of +1 , the left hand male joint an increment of +2 making the required 93 angle. On the right hand side, the right hand male joint may be formed with an angular increment of -2. 5 with the female joint being formed as the nominal 90 to give the combined angle of 87.5 .

Figure 6 is a series of diagrams showing the combination of male and female joints to produce an overall required internal angle. Thus, with the -0.5 , 0 , +0.5 and +1 increments the female joint and -2.5 , -1.0 , 0 and + 2 on the male side, the range of out of square internal angles from 87 to 93 can be achieved in 0.5 increments.

Referring now to Figure 7, in use, the internal angle of the wall to be fitted I with the worktop surfaces is measured using known techniques. The i appropriate combination of male and female joints is then determined. In this I instance, with an internal angle of 88 , a female joint of +0.5 and a male joint of -2.5 are selected thereby to give a net adjustment of -2 on the nominal 90 .

When producing the male joint, the location pins are fitted into the male (M) holes marked -2.5 (Figure 3) and the jig is then applied to the work piece in the usual way with the location pins abutting the front (postformed edge) of the i worktop and the jig then clamped in this position (see Figure 7(b)). The longitudinal position of the worktop jig relative to the worktop is selected using the usual calculations. The male profile is then routed to leave the male joint extending at an angle of 92.5 as shown in Figure 7(c).

The worktop jig is then turned over and the location pins inserted in the female (F) holes marked 0.5 (Figure 2) and the jig clamped to the worktop (see Figure 7(d)). The female profile is then routed using the guide slot 12 to leave the female joint as shown in Figure 7(e). The profiled worktops may then be brought together and clamped using the usual dogbone clamp arrangements to make up the joint of 88 .

Referring now to Figure 8 in this embodiment the worktop jig 210 has a main body portion and a guide slot 212 as in the previous embodiments. The jig 210 also includes three arcuate slots 214, 216 and 218 respectively for receiving an adjustment plate 220 having a datum edge 222. Each slot 214, 216 and 218 has associated therewith engravings or similar marking indicia indicating various angular adjustments, the markings adjacent slot 214 being shown in Figure 1.

For the slots 216 and 218, the markings are on the other side of the worktop jig and are not visible in the Figures. The markings allow the plate to be adjusted at various angles relative to a nominal joint angle. Thus, as shown, the adjustment plate may be adjusted continuously to any angle in the range of from -10 to +10 relative to the nominal angle, using the relevant associated scale.

The location plate 220 is placed in slot 214 when the jig is being used to cut a male joint adjusted from a nominal angle of 90 ; in slot 216 for a female 90 joint; and in slot 218 for a nominal 45 joint. An extra position (not shown) can also be used for female 45 .

As seen in Figure 8, the plate 220 has a raised arcuate portion which cooperates with the slot to constrain the plate to move angularly and the fixing 224 is provided to allow the plate to be clamped in the required angular position.

In use, to cut a male profile for an out of square joint, the required deviation or angular adjustment is determined, and the adjustment plate 220 is positioned in slot 214 and adjusted to suit the angular incremenVdeviation required and then clamped in position. The jig is then applied to the male workplace with the plate and surface 222 of the angular plate 214 abutting the front of the worktop as shown in Figure 10. The female joint is then cut to the same or different angle to the male to give the required combined angle. Figure 11 shows the joints assembled together.

Claims

Claims 1. A worktop jig for use in cutting or routing complementary male

and female profiles on respective first and second lengths of worktop, said jig including: at least one guide slot defining at least one guide surface for cutting or routing said male and female profiles, primary male location means for being used to align said jig on said first length of worktop at a primary alignment angle to allow a primary angle male profile to be cut or routed, primary female location means for being used to align said jig on said second length of worktop at a primary female alignment angle to allow a primary female angle profile to be cut or routed, whereby in use, after cutting or routing, said first and second lengths may be assembled with their complementary profiles abutting or adjacent to form a joint with a primary joint angle; said worktop jig further including at least one secondary location means associated with at least one of said male and female primary location means for being used to align said jig at an incrementally adjusted angle relative to said associated primary angle, to allow a corresponding profile to be cut or routed which is angularly spaced from said primary angle, whereby in use said first and second lengths may be assembled to form a joint with a joint angle which is incrementally adjusted relative to said primary joint angle.
2. A worktop jig as claimed in claim 1, wherein said location means each include a hole for receiving a location pin.
3. A worktop jig according to claim 2, wherein each of said location means comprises a set of at least two holes each for receiving a respective location pin.
4. A worktop jig according to claim 3 wherein said male location means each comprise a set of two holes each for receiving a respective location pin.
5. A worktop jig according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein said female location means comprises a set of three holes each for receiving a respective location pin.
6. A worktop jig according to any of the preceding claims wherein both of said male and female primary location means have associated therewith l O respective secondary male and female location means.
7. A worktop jig according to any of the preceding claims wherein the or each secondary location means comprises a plurality of sets of location means each at a respective incremental angle to the associated primary angle.
8. A worktop jig according to claim 7 wherein the assembled joint angle may be selected to be at one or more discrete angles in the range of +/3 from the primary angle.
9. A worktop jig according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the male locations means includes sets of subsidiary location means at at least the following increments: +2 , 0 , -0 5 -2 SO
10. A worktop jig according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the female location means include subsidiary sets of location means at at least the following increments: +1 , +0.5 , 0 , -0.5 .
11. An adjustable angle joining jig comprising of sets of aligning holes to utilise location pins which when used can adjust the workshop jig joining aperture to a set angle.
12. A worktop jig for use in cutting or routing complementary male and female profiles on respective first and second lengths of worktop, said jig including: at least one guide slot defining at least one guide surface for cutting or routing said male and female profiles, an angularly adjustable datum surface mounted for adjustable angular movement on said jig to allow pre-set alignment of the jig with a work piece.
13. A worktop jig according to claim 12, wherein said datum surface is formed on a datum element which is pivotally mounted on said jig.
14. A worktop jig according to claim 13, wherein said worktop jig includes at least one arcuate slot within which at least a part of said datum element may be received and angularly adjusted.
15. A worktop jig according to claim 14, wherein the worktop jig includes a first arcuate slot for receiving said datum element for angular adjustment used in producing the male profile and a second arcuate slot for receiving said datum element for angular adjustment for use in producing said female profile.
16. A worktop jig according to any of claims 12 to 15 wherein said jig includes indicia marks or the like indicating the extent of angular adjustment.
17. A worktop jig substantially as hereinbefore described with respect to, and as illustrated, in any of Figures 1 to 3, and 7 to 10 of the accompanying drawings.