WO2004082440A1

WO2004082440A1 - Support panel with guides for fastening projecting elements and method for its construction

Info

Publication number: WO2004082440A1
Application number: PCT/IT2003/000230
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aurezio Giumelli
Original assignee: Italiana Arredamenti S.R.L.
Priority date: 2003-03-19
Filing date: 2003-04-11
Publication date: 2004-09-30
Also published as: AU2003233180A1; ITPR20030021A1

Abstract

A support panel (1) with guides (2) for latching projecting elements (5) comprises in combination a plurality of shaped guides and a plurality of projecting elements (5), each of which is provided with latching means (4) so shaped as to be inserted into at least one guide to achieve a removable latching between the projecting element (5) and the guide (2). The guides have section bars (2a) having substantially trapezoidal section which are inserted into corresponding grooves of the panel (1). The method comprises the construction of a panel provided with a plurality of guides having substantially trapezoidal cross section, the readying of projecting elements with the latching means and the coupling, by means of particular movements between the latching means and the guides, to fasten in removable fashion the projecting elements to the panel.

Description

SUPPORT PANEL WITH GUIDES FOR FASTENING PROJECTING ELEMENTS AND METHOD FOR ITS CONSTRUCTION

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND ART. The present invention relates to a support panel with guides for fastening projecting elements and method for its construction.

In the field of panels, wooden or the like, used as furnishing complements to line a wall or a portion of a wall and also used to serve support functions, for instance supporting shelves; conventionally, shelves are fastened to the panel by means of brackets both to the shelf and to the panel, or by means of male elements associated to the shelf which are inserted in appropriate corresponding openings obtained in the panel. However, these are rather complex solutions, laborious to implement in the mounting of the shelves onto the panel, because the amount of time required to screw the brackets or to prepare the couplings is considerable. An important drawback of the prior art entailing the use of male elements inserted in corresponding openings, or guides, obtained in the panel (as schematically shown in the section view of Figure 1A), is that the shelves are not capable of bearing large loads. The guide (designated by the number 101 in Figure 1A) is normally obtained by milling the panel 100 and it has a substantially "C" shaped cross section. The male 102, connected to a shelf 103, have a first portion 102a that is inserted into the guide 101, unloading on the upper tab 101a of the guide part of the load borne by the shelf. Said tab, having a very small thickness and having to bear mainly flexing / shearing loads (thus working substantially "by tearing"), does not allow the shelf to bear large load, in particular not loads exceeding 16 kg. The other part of load is generally absorbed by the lower tab 101b, which is thus subjected to compression loads by the presence of the second portion 102b of the male element 102 connected to the shelf, portion which bears down on said tab

101b.

To remedy the weakness of such a panel, generally reinforcing racks are used, positioned at the sides of the panel and connected to the shelf, to increase its load bearing capacity. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION.

An aim of the present invention is to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks and to provide a panel that allows to apply shelves and other projecting elements in an extremely simple, rapid and economical manner.

Another aim of the present invention is to make available a support panel that is able to assure that the shelves will have a high load bearing capacity.

A further aim is to make said shelves or projecting panels removable with equal ease from the panel.

Said aims are fully achieved by the panel and by the method for its construction, which are the subjects of the present invention and which are characterised by the contents of the claims set out below.

In particular, the panel comprises in combination a plurality of shaped guides and a plurality of projecting elements, each of which is provided with coupling means so shaped as to be inserted into at least a guide to achieve a removable fastening between the projecting element and the guide. The guides can be section bars having a cross section of substantially trapezoidal shape, inserted into corresponding grooves of the panel. Alternatively, the guides can be obtained directly in the panel, as grooves of substantially trapezoidal shape.

The method comprises the following steps:

- constructing a panel provided with a plurality of guides having a cross section of substantially trapezoidal shape, dug directly in the panel or obtained with metallic section bars inserted in sliding fashion into grooves dug in the panel;

- readying projecting elements with associated latching means;

- coupling the latching means with the guides to fasten the projecting elements to the panel in removable fashion, wherein in said coupling the latching means must effect a first movement, upwards and towards the interior of a guide with which an upper part of the latching means enters a guide, followed by a movement to set the latching means down onto the wall of the panel. During the movement for setting the latching means down onto the wall of the panel, a lower part of the latching means can penetrate another guide underlying the previous one. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION.

These and other characteristics shall become more readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment illustrated, purely by way of non limiting example, in the accompanying drawing tables, in which:

- Figure 1 A shows an embodiment of the prior art; - Figures 1 and 2 show a sectioned lateral view of a panel, respectively with two different projecting elements applied;

- Figure 3 shows a detail of the coupling between the guides of the panel and the latching means of the projecting elements;

- Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the panel. With reference to the figures, the number 1 globally designates a panel, preferably made of wood and destined to line a wall.

In the illustrated embodiment, the panel is provided with a plurality of horizontal guides 2, mutually parallel, in this specific case obtained by means of a plurality of grooves dug directly in the panel and in which corresponding metallic section bars 2a have been inserted in sliding fashion (inserting them from one side of the panel). The guide function 2 can be served both by the groove in itself (in the absence of an inner section bar), and by the section bar (if present).

Originally, the guides 2 have a cross section of substantially trapezoidal shape. In particular, the guides 2 are defined by a substantially vertical bottom wall 22, parallel to the longitudinal development of the panel 1 and by a pair of inclined walls 32, 42, whose inclination is preferably between 35° and 55° relative to the bottom wall. Each guide 2 communicates with the visible surface of the panel 1 through an opening 52 defined by peripheral edges 52a. As shall become more readily apparent from the remainder of this description, the inclination of said walls is particularly important in the absorption of the loads by the guides 2, and hence by the panel 1.

The section bars 2a are so shaped as to define a pair of edges 3 extending outside the grooves, in such a way as to be in view on the panel 1, constituting an embellishment thereof and providing the panel itself with the appearance of a so-called staved panel. The reference number 4 globally designates the latching means of a projecting element

5, which in the case shown in Figure 1 is a so-called "picot" 6 (accessory for hanging clothes frontally), whilst in the case shown in Figure 2 it is a shelf 7. The latching means 4 comprise a plate-like element 8, which extends substantially over the entire length of the projecting element whereto it is associated, if the latter is a shelf 7, whilst it is even wider if it is a picot 6.

With particular reference to Figure 3, the plate-like element 8 defines without interruption a first portion 8a associated to the projecting element and destined to remain visible on the panel, a second portion 8b orthogonal to the first portion 8a and destined to be inserted into a guide (in the illustrated case, it is inserted in a section bar 2), a third portion 8c orthogonal to the second portion 8b and entirely contained in the guide (or in the section bar 2), and lastly a fourth portion 8d, also entirely contained in the guide (or in the section bar) and inclined relative to the third portion 8c in such a way as to interact with a recess of the guide 2.

The fourth portion 8d forms with the guide 2 an angle measuring between 35 ° and 55 ° and preferably about 43 ° , substantially coinciding with the angle between the bottom wall

22 and the inclined walls 32, 42 of the guide 2.

Whereas in the case of the picot 6 the latching means interact only with one guide, in the case of the shelf 7 the latching means interact with two mutually distinct guides. In particular, the plate-like element 8 latches superiorly to a guide and defines a lower portion 8e which is inserted into another guide, underlying the previous one, as shown in

Figure 2.

The inclination of the walls 32, 42 of the guide 2 and the presence of the edges 52a of the opening 52 allow the portions 8d and 8b to couple with the guide 2. Unlike the prior art illustrated and described above, in which the loads borne by the shelf 103 are transferred solely as flexion/shearing loads, the inclination of the walls 32, 42 of the guide 2 allows to transfer such loads to the panel 1, distributing them both as compression stresses and as flexion/shearing stresses. In this way, for the same applied load, the panel of the present invention is subjected to smaller flexion/shearing loads than those withstood by the prior art panel. Moreover, the presence of inclined walls assures a material thickness within the panel that greatly exceeds the thickness of the tabs 101a,

101b of the known solution shown in Figure 1A.

All this enables the panel 1 to withstand considerably greater loads than prior art panels and allows the projecting elements 5 to support loads of as much as 85 kg, with transverse dimensions of the panel 1 of traditional size. Another important advantage of the present invention is represented by the fact that the installation of two projecting elements 5 on corresponding superposed guides of a same panel allows for a "self-balancing" of the applied loads. Specifically, the load withstood by a lower projecting element is transferred to the panel, in part as a flexion/shearing load and in part as a compression load; the latter will therefore act upwards, following the development of the panel 1, in a direction opposite to the load borne by the upper projecting element; in particular, the latter load is transferred to the panel by effect of the bearing of the portion 8b on an edge 3 of the section bar (or in any case on a peripheral edge 52a of the guide 2). This "self-balancing" cannot be achieved with a panel according to the prior art, because the upper tab 101a is incapable of transferring compression stresses to the panel itself, but only flexion/traction stresses.

In regard to the method for constructing the panel, it comprises the following steps:

- constructing a panel provided with a plurality of guides having substantially trapezoidal cross section, dug directly in the panel 1 or obtained with metallic section bars 2 inserted in sliding fashion in grooves dug in the panel; - readying projecting elements 5 with associated latching means 4;

- coupling the latching means 4 to the guides to fasten the projecting element 5 to the panel 1 in removable fashion, wherein in said coupling the latching means 4 must effect a first movement, upwards and towards the interior of a guide with which an upper part of the latching means enters a guide, followed by a movement to set the latching means down onto the wall of the panel.

During the movement for setting the latching means down onto the wall of the panel, a lower part of the latching means can penetrate (for instance when the projecting element is a shelf) another guide underlying the previous one. It is readily that the latching means and the way in which the projecting elements can be applied to the panel are extremely simple. This application, in addition to allowing a rugged fastening of the projecting element to the panel (due mainly to the action exerted by the first portion 8a and by the lower portion 8e, when present), allows for an easy removal of the projecting element from the panel, for instance to change its disposition from a guide to another or to remove from the panel altogether.

Since the section bars 2 are not glued in the grooves, but simply inserted therein in sliding fashion, in the (unlikely) hypothesis the section bars should break or the visible edges should age, it is sufficient to extract the defective section bars by extracting them laterally from the grooves and replacing them with new section bars in extremely rapid and economic fashion.

The presence of numerous grooves and the modularity of the panel, which can be associated to other similar panels, allow to obtain lining for walls of various kinds and with shelves or projecting elements arranged in various manners.

Claims

1. Support panel (1) with guides (2) for latching projecting elements (5), each of which is provided with latching means (4) so shaped as to be inserted into at least one guide (2) to obtain a removable latching between the projecting element (5) and the guide, characterised in that the guides (2) have substantially trapezoidal shaped cross section.

2. Panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guides (2) are section bars (2a) having substantially trapezoidal cross section and inserted in corresponding grooves of the panel

(1).

3. Panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guides (2) are obtained as grooves with substantially trapezoidal shape directly in the panel (1).

4. Panel as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the guides are mutually parallel and positioned horizontally.

5. Panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the section bars (2a) define a pair of edges (3) which extend outside the grooves and are visible on the panel (1).

6. Panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the latching means (4) are so shaped as to interact with two mutually distinct guides.

7. Panel as claimed in clain the latching means (4) comprise a plate-like element (8), which extends suboicumαu over the entire length of the projecting element (5) whereto it is associated, said plate-like element (8) defining without interruption a first portion (8a) associated to the projecting element (5) and destined to remain visible on the panel (1), a second portion (8b) orthogonal to the first portion (8a) and destined to be inserted into a guide, a third portion (8c) orthogonal to the second portion (8b) and entirely contained in the guide, and lastly a fourth portion (8d), also entirely contained in the guide and inclined relative to the third portion (8c) in such a way as to interact with a recess (9) of the guide.

8. Panel as claimed in claim 1 or 7, wherein the latching means (4) comprise a platelike element (8) that latches superiorly to a guide and defines a lower portion (8e) which is inserted in another guide.

9. Method for constructing a support panel with guides for latching projecting elements, characterised in that it comprises the following steps: constructing a panel provided with a plurality of guides having a cross section of substantially trapezoidal shape, dug directly in the panel or obtained with metallic section bars inserted in sliding fashion into grooves dug in the panel; readying projecting elements with associated latching means; coupling the latching means with the guides, to fasten the projecting elements to the panel in removable fashion, wherein in said coupling the latching means must effect a first movement, upwards and towards the interior of a guide with which an upper part of the latching means enters a guide, followed by a movement to set the latching means down onto the wall of the panel.

10. Method as claimed in claim 9, wherein during the movement for setting the latching means down onto the wall of the panel, a lower part of the latching means penetrates another guide underlying the previous one.