GB2600754A

GB2600754A - Liquid director

Info

Publication number: GB2600754A
Application number: GB2017669.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Forbes Stephen; Cass Tom
Original assignee: Project Ff&e Ltd
Current assignee: Project Ff&e Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-09
Filing date: 2020-11-09
Publication date: 2022-05-11
Also published as: GB202017669D0

Abstract

An elongate liquid director 22 suitable for mounting to an underside (12c, Figure 1) of a worktop to inhibit the unwanted flow of liquid behind the liquid director. The director comprises a substantially constant profile along its length, said profiled comprising a mounting portion 23 having an upper face for mounting to the worktop, and a projection 24 extending generally downwardly therefrom, so as to divert the liquid flow generally downwardly. The upper face comprises a recess 42 to receive sealing material 44 to provide a substantially liquid impermeable barrier between the mounting portion and the worktop. The recess may be an elongate channel extending substantially parallel to the mounting portion. The director may comprise a mounting structure located rearward of the recess, said structure comprising a spaced array of holes (40, Figure 5) arranged to receive a fastener, such as a screw. The projection may extend forward as well as downwardly and may be located at the forward edge of the mounting portion. Also disclosed is a cabinet (10, Figure 3) comprising a worktop (12, Figure 3), a liquid director; and sealing material. Further, a method of assembling a liquid director to a worktop is also disclosed.

Description

Liquid Director

FIELD

The present teachings relate to a liquid director and to a cabinet with such a liquid director attached to the bottom face of the worktop for improved liquid management.

BACKGROUND

If water is present on a worktop (e.g. a kitchen worktop) to the point where it is able to run off the worktop and travel around the front edge, depending on the amount of water and the rate at which it flows, it has the ability to travel along the front edge profile of the worktop and can continue to travel underneath the work-surface due to gravity and surface tension effects.

Water travelling under a worktop will stop once it comes into contact with something, for example a drawer or door, but will then continue to proceed downwards. If liquid is left to travel unimpeded, it can cause damage to doors, drawers, fascias, items in cabinets, plinths and flooring.

Many known post-formed laminate worktops are manufactured to include a 'drip strip' on the bottom face of the worktop, which is typically a machined groove with the purpose of impeding liquid from travelling past the strip under a worktop. This groove however, is often filled with a glue to reduce water ingress, rendering the drip strip wholly or partially ineffective and causing it to fail in its purpose of impeding liquid travel. In addition, this approach does not lend itself to being retrofitted to existing worktops.

It is also known to provide add-on drip-strips such as those described in the present applicant's earlier patent GB2499071B. However the present applicant has determined that further improvements may be made to the ease of installation and sealing ability of such drip strips.

The present teachings seek to overcome or at least mitigate one or more problems associated with the prior art.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the teachings provides an elongate liquid director for mounting to an underside of a worktop to inhibit the unwanted flow of liquid behind the liquid director, the liquid director comprising a substantially constant profile along its length, said profile comprising a mounting portion having an upper face for mounting to the worktop, and a projection extending generally downwardly therefrom, so as to divert the liquid flow generally downwardly, wherein the upper face comprises a recess to receive sealing material to provide a substantially liquid impermeable barrier between the mounting portion and the worktop.

Advantageously, the provision of the recess for sealing material enhances the integrity of the water impermeable barrier provided by the liquid director, and acts as a guide and reminder for the installer of the need to use sealing material for this purpose.

Optionally, the recess may be an elongate channel extending substantially parallel to the mounting portion.

This simplifies manufacture of the liquid director and allows the sealant to be provided in a single uninterrupted bead along the channel Optionally, the liquid director may comprise a mounting structure for mounting to the work surface.

The mounting structure may be located rearward of the recess.

This ensures that the mounting structure is located away from moisture when assembled Optionally, the mounting structure comprises a spaced array of holes arranged to receive a fastener, such as a screw.

This allows the liquid director to be mounted securely and rapidly without requiring specialist tools The projection may optionally extend forward as well as downwardly.

This arrangement helps ensure the liquid is directed well away from the cabinet.

The projection may optionally be located at the forward edge of the mounting portion.

This ensures that the mounting structure is located away from moisture flowing off the worktop when assembled.

The mounting portion may optionally be formed from a substantially rigid material.

Advantageously this reduces the risk of the liquid director sagging which could compromise the moisture barrier it provides.

The material may optionally be a plastics material such as polypropylene. Plastics are generally low cost and capable of being extruded.

A further aspect of the teachings provides a cabinet comprising: a worktop, to be arranged substantially horizontally in use and having a top surface, front longitudinal edge and an underside; a separate liquid director according to the first aspect mounted to the underside of the worktop; and sealing material located in the recess of the mounting portion to seal against the underside.

Optionally the sealing material may be a putty or resilient material, for example a silicone sealant.

Such material provides an effective seal by conforming to the opposing surfaces of the worktop and the liquid director.

The sealing material may optionally be a curable material.

This further enhances the ability to conform whilst the sealing material is viscous, its ability to stay in place when set.

A third aspect of the present teachings provides a method of assembling a liquid director of the first aspect to a worktop, the method comprising the steps of a) applying a sealing material to the recess; and b) mounting the liquid director to the underside of the worktop.

Such a method provides for simple installation with no specialist skills or tools either as part of the initial manufacturing process or as a retro fit to existing cabinets.

A fastener such as a screw may optionally be utilised to mount the liquid director to the worktop.]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-section through a known cabinet incorporating a worktop; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of A, showing the direction of liquid flow with no liquid director installed Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-section through a worktop similar to the one shown in figure 2, with an embodiment of the liquid director of the present teachings installed and showing a liquid flow path; Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section through the liquid director of figure 3; Figure 5 is an isometric view of the liquid director of figure 4; and Figures 6 and 7 are underside and front views respectively of the liquid director of figure 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S)

Figures 1 and 2 show a cabinet 10, comprising a worktop 12 and below worktop item 14. The worktop 12 has a top face 12a, front face 12b and bottom face 12c. Between top face 12a and front face 12b is a curved transition 16, and between front face 12b and bottom face 12c is a curved transition 18. In other embodiments different front profiles are known In this embodiment, the below worktop item 14 is a drawer 20 with top face 20a, front face 20b and back face 20c.

In use, as shown in figure 2, liquids run off the worktop top face 12a, around the curved transition 16, down the front face 12b, around the curved transition 18 and along the bottom face 12c. From there, liquids meet the drawer 20 and can follow three potential routes; straight down the front face 20b, along the top face 20a and then down the back face 20c; or continuing further along the bottom face to the rear. This water can then puddle in areas of the drawer 20 or other items that are not designed to be water resistant, potentially causing damage.

In this embodiment the worktop 12 is formed from a particle board core with a liquid impermeable outer layer being the top, front, and bottom faces 12a, 12b and 12c thereon. A joint is formed in the liquid impermeable layer at location 15. This joint 15 represents a location where moisture can penetrate into the particleboard core and cause damage to the worktop 12.

Figure 3 shows the cabinet 10, comprising the worktop 12, the below worktop item 14, and a liquid director 22 according to an embodiment of the present teachings.

In profile, the liquid director 22 has an upper mounting portion 23, to be mounted to the worktop bottom face 12c.

Referring to Figures 4 to 7, the liquid director 22 further comprises a generally downwards tapering projection 24. The projection 24 has a front surface 26 (facing away from the cabinet 10) which terminates in a flattened tip 32. The projection 24 further comprises a back surface 28 (facing towards the cabinet) which also terminates at the tip 32. The projection 24 extends generally downwardly and forward. In other embodiments the shape of the projection may be altered, provided that it ultimately projects generally downwardly. In further embodiment one or more further projections may be provided behind the first.

The projection 24 is arranged at a front edge of the liquid director 22 and the mounting portion 23 extends rearwardly therefrom.

In this embodiment the mounting portion 23 is a substantially planar strip, but is provided with a mounting structure in the form of through holes 40 at regular intervals along its length. In this embodiment the mounting holes 40 are countersunk, but in other embodiments, this may not be the case.

The holes 40 are provided to accommodate fasteners such as screws 46 to secure the liquid director in place under the worktop. In other embodiments alternative mounting structures may be used. For example, for fixing to stone and resin composite worktops, adhesive may alternatively be used.

A recess or channel 42 is provided on the upper surface of the mounting portion 23.

In this embodiment the recess 42 is an uninterrupted channel extending along the length of the upper surface and is located towards the front thereof, and forward of the holes 40. The shape of the channel may be altered in other embodiments -for example it may be v-shaped or u-shaped and/or a plurality of adjacent channels may be provided.

The recess 42 is provided to be filled with sealing material 44. The sealing material 44 is provided to block the passage of moisture between the liquid director 22 and the worktop 12. An example of a suitable sealing material 44 is a silicone sealant that may be applied into the recess in an unset viscous state, before setting in situ when secured to the worktop 12.

The liquid director 22 is formed from a substantially rigid material such a rigid plastic like polypropylene or polylactic acid, e.g. in an extrusion process. In addition the liquid director materials may be a formed sheet metal such as aluminium or stainless steel or an extruded metal such as aluminium. By being rigid, the risk of sagging intermediate the fasteners is reduced, thereby reducing the risk of moisture seeping between the worktop 12 and the liquid director 22.

The liquid director 22 may be mounted to the worktop 12 as part of the manufacturing process thereof, but particularly lends itself to being fitted in situ after the cabinet(s) 10 have been fitted and installed.

The fitting process is as follows: First, the liquid director 22 is cut to the required length. Using a sealant gun or the like, silicone sealant 44 is then applied to the recess, ideally to slightly overfill the recess as illustrated in figure 4. The liquid director 22 is then offered up to the worktop 12 such that the front edge is behind the rounded or chamfered portion of the worktop 12 and the tip 32 of the projection 24 is forward of the below worktop item 14. The liquid director 22 is then fixed to the worktop 12 using screws 46 secured in holes 40. Any excess silicone sealant 44 may then be wiped away to provide a neat finish.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the liquid director 22 acts to direct liquid that flows down the front of the worktop 12 onto the ground in front of the cabinet 10, rather than it flowing to areas where it can damage the cabinet or contents thereof. The screw fitting may be achieved with common tools and is less destructive, time-consuming and labour intensive that prior art strips that are fitted into channels routed into the underside of the worktop, whilst being very securely mounted.

Although the teachings have been described above with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes or modifications may be made without departing from the scope as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. An elongate liquid director for mounting to an underside of a worktop to inhibit the unwanted flow of liquid behind the liquid director, the liquid director comprising a substantially constant profile along its length, said profile comprising a mounting portion having an upper face for mounting to the worktop, and a projection extending generally downwardly therefrom, so as to divert the liquid flow generally downwardly, wherein the upper face comprises a recess to receive sealing material to provide a substantially liquid impermeable barrier between the mounting portion and the worktop.
2. The liquid director of claim 1 wherein the recess is an elongate channel extending substantially parallel to the mounting portion.
3. The liquid director of claim 1 or claim 2 comprising a mounting structure for mounting to the work surface.
4. The liquid director of claim 3 wherein the mounting structure is located rearward of the recess.
5. The liquid director of claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the mounting structure comprises a spaced array of holes arranged to receive a fastener, such as a screw.
6. The liquid director of any preceding claim wherein the projection extends forward as well as downwardly.
7. The liquid director of any preceding claim wherein the projection is located at the forward edge of the mounting portion.
8. The liquid director of any preceding claim wherein the mounting portion is formed from a substantially rigid material.
9. The liquid director of claim 8 wherein the material is a plastics material such as polypropylene.
10.A cabinet comprising: a worktop, to be arranged substantially horizontally in use and having a top surface, front longitudinal edge and an underside; a separate liquid director according to any preceding claim mounted to the underside of the worktop; and sealing material located in the recess of the mounting portion to seal against the underside.
11.The worktop of claim 10 wherein the sealing material is a putty or resilient material, for example a silicone sealant.
12.The worktop of claim 11 wherein the sealing material is a curable material.
13.A method of assembling a liquid director of claim 1 to a worktop, the method comprising the steps of a) applying a sealing material to the recess; and b) mounting the liquid director to the underside of the worktop.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein in step b) a fastener such as a screw is utilised to mount the liquid director to the worktop.