US3554623A - Metal knockdown cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION COMTEMPLATES A CABINET CONSTRUCTION USING PRIMARILY PANELS WHICH CAN BE PRE-FINISHED OR LAMINATED, WITH SIMULATED WOOD-GRAIN OR OTHER DECORATIVE EFFECTS EMBODIED IN AN OUTER PLASTIC LAMINATION. THE PLASTIC IS LAMINATED TO SHEET METAL SUCH AS STEEL, FOR TOUGHNESS, STRENGTH, AND PRECISION OF FORMATION, AND IS ASSEMBLED WITH SPECIAL EDGE MOLDING TO CREATE THE APPEARANCE OF RICHLY CONTOURED EDGE ROUTING ON THICK WOOD PANELS. THE CONSTRUCTION LENDS ITSELF TO BULK SHIPMENT OF PARTS TO THE CUSTOMER''S LOCATION, FOR SIMPLE AND PRECISE IN-PLANT ASSEMBLY AS THE CUSTOMER NEEDS HIS CABINETS.

Description

Jan. 12, 1971 v 5. w. SUCKLE ET AL METAL KNOCKDOWN CABINET I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1969 INVENTO 5f M/A/ United States Patent 3,554,623 METAL KNOCKDOWN CABINET Benjamin W. Suckle, Elkins Park, and William-Gavin, Old Forge, Pa., assignors to Nytronics, Inc., Pelham Manor, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 24, 1969, Ser. No. 809,708 Int. Cl. A47b 81/61; Hk 5/00 US. Cl. 312-7 23 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention contemplates a cabinet construction using primarily panels which can be pre-finished or laminated, with simulated wood-grain or other decorative elfects embodied in an outer plastic lamination. The plastic is laminated to sheet metal such as steel, for toughness, strength, and precision of formation, and is assembled with special edge molding to create the appearance of richly contoured edge routing on thick wood panels. The construction lends itself to bulk shipment of parts to the customers location, for simple and precise in-plant assembly as the customer needs his cabinets.

This invention relates to a panel construction having particular utility in the context of a knockdown cabinet, as for accommodation of a TV receiver or other devices generally embodied in furniture type housings.

The competitive production of cabinets, as for TV receivers, coupled with the increasing cost of labor and materials for traditional wood constructions, and increased transportation costs for completely assembled units, is forcing a revolution in the nature of such conplastic which incorporates .a wood-grain external appearance.

A further object is to meet the above objects with a construction in which a cabinet top panel of sheet metal is given the appearance of deluxe edge-molding of the simulated wood, the simulation being faithful to a correct display of grain and longitudinal-grain effects along respective adjacent orthogonally-related edges of the panel.

It is also an object in a construction of the character indicated to present the appearance of substantial thickness of deluxe edge-routed and richly-finished, highquality panel lumber.

Another object is to meet the foregoing objects with a construction that lends itself to fabrication of precisionformed individual panel parts or subassemblies, so that such cabinets may be bulk-shipped in knocked-down condition, and may be simply assembled by the customer, using fasteners such as machine-driven self-tapping screws which 'are completely concealed from external view.

A specific object is to provide in a construction of the character indicated a clean and well-defined veining line as a distinctive feature of a simulated edge-contoured panel.

It is a general object to meet the above objects with a construction in which overall cost may be reduced and yet greater precision achieved in the fabrication of cabinet parts, to the end that the customers random selection of parts from bulk supplies may assure him simplified inplant assembly of better-fitting and better-looking cabinets at substantially reduced assembly cost.

Other objects and various further features of novelty and invention will be pointed out or will occur to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In said drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, a preferred form of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a view in front three-quarter perspective of a cabinet of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of component parts of the top panel assembly depicted in FIG. 1;

, FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of three orthogonally related fragments of the top panel member of FIG. 2, the fragments being taken at the left-rear and left-front corners and in the central region of the front edge;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the fragments of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a rear elevation of the rear-corner fragmerit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the cabinet assembly, taken in a vertical plane between and parallel to the upstanding end walls of the cabinet, the section being displayed as four orthogonally related corner fragments;

FIG. 7 is .a fragmentary sectional view at the plane 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view in elevation of the inner side of the right upstanding end wall of FIG. 1, taken as four orthogonally related corner fragments;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary rear-elevation view of the cabinet of FIG. 1, taken as two vertically spaced corner fragments and so aligned alongside FIG. 8 as to provide ready recognition of parts; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the cabinet subassembly just prior to assembly of the top panel, FIG. 10 being so aligned alongside FIG. 8 as to provide ready recognition of parts.

Briefly stated, the invention contemplates a cabinet construction using primarily panels which are pre-finished or laminated, with simulated wood-grain or other decorative elfects embodied in an outer plastic lamination. The plastic may be laminated to sheet metal such as steel, for toughness, strength, and precision of formation, and is assembled with special edge molding to create the appearance of richly contoured edge routing on thick wood panels. The construction lends itself to bulk shipment of parts to the customers location, for simple and precise inplant assembly .as the customer needs his cabinets.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the invention is shown in application to a cabinet having a rectangular floor panel 10 supported by and between upright side panels 11-12 and capped by a top panel 13. The cabinet is suited for accommodation of a television receiver and includes provision for the mounting of a front panel, such as a mask plate 15 having a window opening, suggested at 14, for framing the face of the display tube of the receiver (not shown).

The cabinet may have the appearance of a fine piece' 7 shown, all exposed panel edges run parallel to the panel grain, except for the case of the top panel 13 where three edges, namely, the front edge 16 and the two end edges 17-18, all project beyond the vertical side walls of the cabinet. These edges 16-17-18 are also contoured to provide a uniformly routed deluxe molding appearance, the graining in edge 16 being parallel to the graining in the top panel 13, and the graining in edges 17-18 having the appearance of grain running at right angles to the front 16 with corners mitered.

The construction of top panel 13 is seen in FIGS. 2 to 7 to comprise an assembly of two basic parts: a panel member 19 and an edge-molding member 20. Panel member 19 comprises a top surface of flat rectangular plan form, with integral downward side walls along each of its edges. Along the outwardly exposed edges (front and both ends), the side wall is continuous, as indicated in FIG. 2 at 21-22 for the right-end and front walls respectively, and in FIGS. 3 and 4 at 22-23 for the front and left-end walls, respectively. The front corners are rounded and continuous, as suggested at 24 for the left-front corner shown in detail in FIG. 3. Lower edges of the side walls 21-22-23 are integrally formed with in-turn elongated mounting flanges, parallel to and spaced from the top panel surface; two such flanges 25-25 extend outwardly along front wall 22 from a central cut-out 26, and similar elongated mounting flanges extend along the side walls 21-23, as shown for the case of flange 27 on wall 23 in FIGS. 3 to 7. Bevel cuts 28-29 at adjacent edges of adjacent front-corner flanges 25-27 are spaced from the rounded corner 24 and facilitate the smoothly rounded contouring thereof, as will be understood.

For mounting purposes, the effective thickness T (see FIG. 4) of panel member 19 is seen to be determined by the downward offset provided by side walls 21-22-23.

Panel member 19 may, however, be thicker along the back edge, as best seen in FIGS. and 6. The back edge is defined by a downward wall 30, terminating at an integral inward offset 31 which, in turn, is integrally formed with a downward flange 32; flange 32 and offset 31 will be understood to accommodate the perforated rear panel (not shown) customarily provided to prevent accidental manual access to the interior of the cabinet.

In practice, the described side walls, mounting flanges and the like are formed after suitably blanking from flat sheet-steel stock, that may be pre-finished or plastic laminated to present wood-grain effects after all metalforming is complete. The plastic lamination may be of tough, scuff-resistant material such as vinyl and is preferably of relatively thin gauge, to permit local stretch, in conforming to the front-corner bends, as at 24.

The edge-molding means which forms the other primary part of the top panel 13 is seen in FIG. 2 to comprise a single-piece frame, which may be of injectionrnolded plastic, such as high-impact polystyrene. The

elongated molding edges 16-17-18 will be recognized as constituting three contiguous elongated legs of this framework, which is completed by an elongated back leg 35 and by a central reinforcing leg 36 which extends between mid-points of the relatively long front and back legs 16-35. As best seen in FIG. 6, the back leg 35 is formed as an angle member, with an upper horizontal flange 37 fitting the undersurface of the flat panel 19, and with a rear vertical flange 38 fitting the rear side Wall 30. The effective height or thickness T of the back leg 35 conforms to the spacing between flange 31 and panel 19, and permanent assembly is achievd by fasteners (such as crimped rivets 39) at suitable spaced registering apertures as at 40 along overlapped regions of the rear side wall 30 and of the vertical flange 38. The center leg 36 may be of generally T-shaped section, providing an extended top plate surface (shown in full in FIG. 2) which is coplanar with back flange 37 and which therefore directly supports and reinforces the adjacent top-panel surface 19; the center upright or web of the T-shape may be of the same effective height T as flange 38, and integral bosses 41 at 4 spaced locations provide added strength at securing apertures (as at 42) aligned with securing studs (as at 43) carried by the undersurface of panel 19. Studs 43 may be of steel, locally welded in place to panel 19, as by a suitable capacitor-discharge current flow, or the top panel may be cemented to the plastic frame.

Inwardly extending securing flanges are formed integrally with the molding frame 20, as part of each of the outwardly exposed legs 16-17-18, and these legs are locally recessed at their upper-rear portion to depress the mounting-flange position. Thus, mounting flange 45 is depressed with respect to the bulbous upper contour of leg 17, mounting flanges 46-46' are depressed with respect to the similarly bulbous upper contour of front leg 16, and mounting flange 47 is similarly formed in leg 18. Spaced openings, as at 48 in the end mounting flanges 45-47 and at 49 in the front mounting flanges 46-46, register with corresponding openings (50-51) in mounting flanges (25-27) of the top-panel member 19, for retention by fastening means to be later identified.

As previously indicated, the externally-exposed bulbous decorative contour of the edge-molding member 20 is uniform for the three exposed edges 16-17-18, and the maximum effective thickness T of this contour appears at a centrally located part of the molding section, both for end legs as shown in FIG. 7 and for the front leg as shown in FIG. 6. The upper-rear recess which defines the depressed location of the mounting-flange portions 46-47 is adjacent this thick central region, being defined by a vertical wall surface, at 53 for the recess at flange 47, and of extent T less than the effective panel thickness T received therein. Thus, when panel member 19 is assembled to molding member 20, a clean and sharply defined veining line appears at 54, namely the fit of Wall 53 to the adjacent side wall 23 of panel member 19. The same fit will be understood to apply for the front leg 16 to panel wall 22, and for the right-end leg 17 to panel wall 21, so that the veining line runs continuously along all exposed top panel edges and around the corners, as seen in FIG. 1.

For the particular embodiment shown, primary anchorage of the top panel 13 to the rest of the cabinet is essentially only by way of the upstanding end panels 11-12. Each end panel 11-1'2 may be of laminated sheetsteel construction, being characterized along its uppermost edge by an in-turned mounting flange, such as the flange 55 of panel '12. In order that the top panel 13 may firmly seat on flange 55, the end legs 17-18 of the edge-molding member 20 are each recessed at their lower-rear portions, as shown in FIG. 7. Such recessing provides a horizontal lower surface for flange 47 to seat on panel flange 55, and the vertical Wall surface 56 which defines the extent to the recess provides lateral locating abutment with the top part of the end panel 12. Flange 55 will be understood to have spaced openings which register with openings 48-51, so that assembly may be made by fasteners such as self-tapping screws (57) passing through these openings and secured to a nut rail 58, received within the space between flange 27 and top surface 19.

Preferably, the upper-recess vertical wall 53 is laterally outwardly offset with respect to the corresponding wall 56 of the lower recess, so that there will be no fortuitous coincidence between the plane of the end panel 12 and the location of the veining line 54; in FIG. 7, an offset D characterizes this relationship, for more pleasing appearance and for an enhanced suggestion of authenticity in wood-panel simulation in the top 13.

Since, in the form shown, the front edge of the top panel 13 has no wall upon which to seat (it being desirable that the mask panel 15 be removable), there is no need to recess its lower rear edge, along the front leg 16. Thus, in FIG. 6, the front leg 16 is seen to have a mounting flange 46 of more substantial thickness, beneath the toppanel flange 25. The added thickness provides added strength and affords opportunity to form counterbores 49' for apertures 29, so that heads of fastening devices (59) may be fully recessed. As with the end-panel assembly of FIG. 7, the fastening means 57 may be self-tapping screws driven into preformed openings in a nut rail 60. In FIG. 2, the nut rail 60 is seen to be characterized by a central local cut-out 61, to enable insertion of nut-rail flanges through the separate molding-frame openings and in nested relation with the front root connection of the center leg 36 to the front leg 16. Nut rail 60 is provided with an elongated vertical flange 62 for added stiffness and to enable welded fastening of angle brackets 63-64 at the ends of the nut rail. Brackets 63-64 fit in nested relation with vertical mounting flanges 65 to which the front mask 15 is secured, as will later appear more clearly in connection with FIG. 10.

-: The top panel 13 will be seen as a subassembly comprising molding frame 20 and panel member '19, secured along the back edge by rivets 39, along the front edge by screws '59, and along the center leg 36 by means 43; this subassembly necessarily includes the nut rail 60, with brackets 63-64 depending therefrom. Alternatively, the top panel 13 may be a subassembly without nut rail 60, thus enabling more compact bulk shipment and leaving the nut rail for later assembly by the customer. Regardless of the method of assembly, the continuous woodgrain lamination extends beneath the sharp upper edge of edge-molding legs 16-17-18, even at the cut-out 26 which is deep enough for reception of the lower edge thereof, within a small recess 26' in the connection of center leg 36 to the front leg 16.

'Z The remainder of the cabinet construction requires no unusual attention to graining effects and may therefore be of relatively straightforward design. In FIGS. 6, 8 and 9,

the bottom panel or floor 10 is seen to be carried by int'urned horizontal flanges 65-66, integrally formed with a part '67 of the end-panel material that has been doubled back on itself, thus stiffening the bottom edge (68) of the side panel (11) and at the same time positioning floor 10 well above the lowermost edge 68. The floor 10 may be of thick tempered pressed wood or other suitable material, secured by bolts '69 to flanges 65-66.

sufficiently deep in the molding to fully accommodate the (thickness of mask 15. As with top panel 13;, the finish or the wood-grained plastic lamination is applied to end panels 1'1-12 prior to metal-forming, and the grain should be elongated vertically so that its. application over the contour 70 will produce a pleasing effect. The lapped edge of this lamination may extend to andover the flange 65, and it may also overlap the rear offset-flange formation 72 for reception of the perforated back panel (not shown), as well as the upper and lower flange formations 55-66-67. Having secured the floor 10 to the end panels 11-12, the top panel 13 (preassembled with nut rail 60) is next seated upon and secured by fasteners 57 to the mounting flanges -55. Thus assembled, the upper corners of the inwardly recessed rear vertical flanges 72 lap the outer corners of the rear flange 32 of top panel 13, with registering openings (such as opening 73 in flange 32, FIG. and fastening means such as a crimped rivet 74 may secure the relationship. At the same time, depending brackets 63-64 from nut rail 60 nest with end-panel flanges 65 (FIG. with aligned openings for receipt of the fastening means 75 which also secures face-mask panel from the back side. The front appearance is completed upon assembly of a front rail 76, with elongated grooving which complements the edge-molding appearance at 70-71. Front rail 76 is, again, formed of sheet metal, with an upwardly extending mounting flange 77 and with a horizontal rearwardly extending mounting flange 78. Flange 78 is seen in FIG. 6 to be securedupon and near the front edge of floor 10, by the forward bolt means '69. The vertical flange 77 will be understood to have a securing aperture in registration 'with each of the similar openings (on the alignment suggested at 79in FIG. 8) at the lower ends of end-panel flanges 65, for reception of screws which also secure the face-mask panel 15.

As generally indicated above, correct graining effects may be devised in the mold for forming the edge-molding frame 20. Such techniques per se form no part of the invention, and it suflices here to indicate that the contourfor-rning surfaces of the mold should be suitably longitudinally scored to simulate longitudinal grain in the front leg and that corresponding surfaces in the end legs 17-18 should be scored, stippled or otherwise characterized to produce grain appearance in these legs. After molding, the exposed contours may be coated with suitable pigment which may remain in grain grooves or recesses after wiping the high spots to produce the desired grain effects.

It will be seen that we have described an essentially simple cabinet construction which lends itself to the economies and precision of sheet-metal fabrication but which at the same time achieves the rich appearance of handcrafted deluxe wood, complete with ornate edge molding which is faithful in the consistency of grain simulation. The construction lends itself to bulk shipment of knockeddown preassemblies, with the customer making completed assemblies only as and when needed. The precise square formation of sheet-metal parts, even as laminated with wood-grain vinyl, enables the tight assembly of perfect joints. For example, if the upright end panels 11-12 are loosely assembled to floor 10 and front rail 76 and are later secured while held in a suitable fixture for compressing panels 11-12 against ends of rail 76, then the sharply cut end edges of rail 76 will set tightly, with slight local indentation, into the vinyl lamination on the sideframe surface 80 of end panels 11-12. And, as already indicated, the sharply defined continuous veining line 54 adds to the appearance of first-class cabinetry.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the preferred form shown, it will be understood that modifications may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the claims. For example, the basic cabinet construction finds further utility for laminations other than wood-grain, and also for all sheet-steel fabrication, relying on the edge-molding member 20 for a contrasting accent stripe or the like elfects,

What is claimed is:

1. A composite furniture panel, comprising a primary panel member of predetermined dimensions and peripheral configuration, said panel member having at least one elongated edge of uniform effective thickness, an elongated edge-molding member having a laterally projecting outer decorative edge contour of substantially uniform effective thickness at a generally central region of a section of said edge-molding member, the upper rear portion of said edge-molding member being recessed along adjacent elongated substantially horizontal and substantially vertical surfaces to respectively define (a) a rearwardly projecting mounting-flange portion extending along and beneath said elongated panel-member edge and (b) an upwardly extending shoulder overlapping at least a part of the said edge thickness, said flange portion and the underside of said panel-member edge having plural spaced registering securing openings, and spaced fastening means securing said panel member and said molding member at the spaced registering openings.

2. A panel according to claim 1, in which said vertical shoulder surface is of an eflective height less than the said panel-member edge thickness, whereby an apparent veining line is defined at exposed adjacent upper and outer edges of said molding and panel members.

3. A panel according to claim 1, in which the lower rear portion of said edge-molding member is characterized by (c) a rearwardly projecting mounting-flange portion extending along said edge-molding member in substantially parallel and vertically spaced relation to said first-mentioned mounting-flange portion, thereby defining said mounting-flange portion with spaced substantially parallel elongated surfaces offset from the said centralregion thickness of said edge-molding member, whereby upon fitting the lower recessed portion of said edge-molding member in overlapping relation with the upper edge of a vertical panel, said fastening means may be carried by the vertical panel and may secure both said primary panel member and said edge-molding member in assembled relation to each other and to the vertical panel.

4. A panel according to claim 3, in which said mounting-flange portion of said lower rear portion of said edgemolding member is one of two adjacent surfaces defining an elongated recess, the other of said lower-rear adjacent surfaces being substantially vertical and adapted to receive and locate the upper outer part of the vertical panel when in secured relation.

5. A panel according to claim 4, in which the upper one of said recessed vertical surfaces is laterally offset from the lower one of the recessed vertical surfaces, thereby avoiding any appearance that the veining line is in the plane of the outer exposed surface of the vertical panel to which the composite panel may be secured.

6. A panel according to claim 1, in which each of two adjacent elongated edges are of uniform effective thickness, and in which said edge-molding member is integrally formed with adjacent contiguous legs substantially coextensive with said two adjacent elongated panel-member edges, said legs having matching contiguous laterally projecting outer decorative edge contours, the upper rear portions of both said legs being recessed to define a mounting-flange portion for each of said legs, both flange portions and the underside of the corresponding adjacent edges of the panel member having spaced registering securing openings, said fastening means securing said panel member and both legs of said molding member at the spaced registering openings.

7. A panel according to claim 1, of rectangular planform, in which each of three adjacent elongated edges is of the same effective thickness, and in which said edgemolding member is integrally formed with adjacent contiguous legs that are respectively substantially coextensive with said three adjacent elongated panel-member edges, said legs having matching contiguous laterally projecting outer decorative edge contours, the upper rear portions of all said legs being recessed to define a mounting-flange portion for each of said legs, all three flange portions and the underside of the corresponding adjacent edges of the panel member having spaced registering securing openings, said fastening means securing said panel member and all said legs of said molding member at the spaced registering openings.

8. A panel according to claim 7, in which the remaining elongated panel-member edge is of substantially uniform effective thickness, and in which said edge-molding member includes a fourth leg integrally connecting the respective outer ends of three legs, said fourth leg being engaged to the underside of said remaining panelmember edge.

9. A panel according to claim 1, in which said panel member is of formed sheet metal characterized by an upper surface panel with a contiguous depending side wall defining said elongated edge, and an in-turned mountingflange portion integral with the lower edge of said side wall and spaced from said upper surface panel, the securing openings in said panel member being at spaced locations along said mounting-flange portion of said panel member.

10. A panel according to claim 9, in which said fastening means includes a nut rail received in the space between said upper surface panel and said mounting-flange portion, and fasteners respectively received in plural sets of registering openings and secured to said nut rail.

11. A panel according to claim 10, in which said nut rail includes bracket means extending downwardly from said composite panel at spaced locations, said bracket means including attachment means to receive and retain a vertical panel member in assembled relation thereto.

12. A panel according to claim 8, in which said panel member is of formed sheet metal characterized by an upper surface panel with a contiguous depending side wall defining each of said elongated edges, an in-turned mounting-flange portion integral with the lower edge of each side wall and spaced from said upper surface panel, the securing openings in said panel member being at spaced locations along the mounting-flange portions of at least three of said side walls.

13. A panel according to claim 12, in which said fourth leg is located in the space between the mounting-flange portion and the upper surface panel along the inside of the remaining panel-member edge.

14. A panel according to claim 13, in which said edgemolding member includes a fifth or inner leg parallel to two opposed legs and integrally connecting the other two opposed legs, said fifth leg being engaged to and in supporting relation with the underside of a central region of said upper surface panel.

15. A panel according to claim 1, in which said panel member is of laminated construction, the outer lamination being of simulated wood-grain plastic.

16. A panel according to claim 1, in which said edgemolding member is of injection-molded unitary plastic construction.

17. A panel according to claim 12, in which said panel member includes an outer lamination of simulated woodgrain plastic, said lamination extending continuously over said upper surface panel and over the side walls contiguous thereto, said edge-molding member fitting at least three of said side walls in overlapping relation with said lamination.

18. A panel according to claim 17, in which the predominant simulated wood-grain direction extends generally parallel to at least one of said side walls, and in which said edge-molding member is formed with simulated elongated wood graining along a leg parallel to and adjacent said one side wall and with simulated wood end-graining along an adjacent leg.

19. A cabinet construction comprising a base and plural upstanding side walls secured to said base, said side walls having upper edges in a common generally horizontal surface and inwardly extending flange means carried by said side walls at said common surface, edge-molding means comprising a unitary frame overstanding said flange means and with an outwardly extending decorative molding contour projecting laterally of the vertical surface of at least one of said side walls, said edge-molding means having an elongated panel-receiving recess along its upper rear edge, and a laminated panel spanning said side walls and received in the recess of said molding, said panel being of sheet metal with decorative plastic laminated to the outer exposed surfaces thereof, said panel including integral downwardly extending side walls and inturned flange means integral with said side walls, spaced registering openings in both said flange means and in the recessed part of said molding along said one side wall, and fastening means securing said side Wall and said edge-molding means and the in-turned flanged means of said laminated panel, the recess of said edge-molding means accommodating a suflicient portion of the sidewall thickness of said panel to overlap the plastic lamination thereof.

20. A cabinet construction according to claim 19, in which said base is of elongated rectangular planform with like upstanding side walls secured to opposed longitudinal ends thereof, and in which said edge-molding means is characterized by essentially the same outwardly extending decorative molding contour and panel-receiving recess along edges corresponding to both said side walls and one of the elongated sides extending between said side Walls, said side walls and edge-molding means and panel flanged means being secured at spaced registering openings.

21. A cabinet construction according to claim 20, and including front-wall supporting bracket means secured to said panel flanged means in common with the securing of said edge-molding means thereto, and a front panel member removably securable to said bracket means and extending in a vertical plane between front edge portions of said side walls.

22. A cabinet construction according to claim 21, in which said front panel member is a TV mask apertured to display the face of a TV-picture tube.

23. A cabinet construction according to claim 20, in which the means securing said edge-molding means and panel flanged means along the front edge includes a nut rail received in the space between the panel top surface References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,969,268 1/1961 Mason et al 3 l27TV 2,783,114 2/1957 Raduns 312-7TV 3,343,896 9/1967 Mangels et a1. 3127 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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