ITTV20130188A1 - "PROCEDURE FOR REALIZING A DOOR FOR COMPOSITE MATERIAL FURNISHING ELEMENTS, AND ITS ASSEMBLED DOOR" - Google Patents

Description

PROCEDURE FOR MAKING A DOOR FOR FURNITURE ELEMENTS IN COMPOSITE MATERIAL. AND RELATIVE

ASSEMBLED DOOR

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for making a door that can also be sanitized, heat-resistant and scratch-resistant, for making a door, for example of a wardrobe or a bedside table or a trolley, but also for other similar components such as drawer fronts.

Field of application

[0002] The object of the present invention has a particular, though not exclusive, destination in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes also for long-term hospitalization, rest homes and in any case in all those cases where it is necessary to have a component even equipped and comfortable in a hospital room, to safely store clothing, footwear, materials, accessories, consumer goods and daily utilities and more in such a way as to provide assistance and facilitate the stay of patients as well as any support to medical and paramedical staff.

[0003] Trolleys, such as wardrobes or bedside tables for hospital use, are part of a widespread conventional interior design, which in its widest range offers bedside tables and wardrobes of the most disparate species, for example of the type whose the body is supported by feet resting on the floor, or with swiveling wheels and, last but not least, other furnishing elements designed to contain goods and things that are suspended such as wall units or structures of the wall type.

[0004] In the more proper context, usually called doors in furnishing elements, they are made using thermoplastic materials by molding the chosen shape or alternatively using materials that may be less valuable, such as for example mdf or other substitute materials of wood. In the first case, the processing is extremely easy, managing to obtain the element that completes the furniture, by means of a molding or blowmoulding operation, while in the second case, the processing involves the use of a panel, eg. of mdf, chipboard, previously plated or ennobled, along which to perform the removal by applying a profile, and then carry out the necessary work to apply the additional elements that complete the door, such as the seats to accommodate the hinges and any handle. The door thus created will then be mounted on the relative component at a later time, in particular the furniture body, consisting mostly of a parallelepiped structure, consisting of the assembly of a bottom, a top, two sides perpendicular to the bottom , a back or back, where at least one door is frontal and openable, of the type hinged for example laterally vertically. Generally, in the case of bedside tables they can also be provided with drawers, one or more, externally, as above the compartment that can be opened by the underlying door and in some other solutions also inside said compartment. The compartment accessible through the door opening can also be equipped with one or more shelves, depending on the needs, supported laterally by guides or supports of various configurations protruding along the sides of the body.

Finally, both the drawer and the door can be equipped with a conventional safety key lock.

[0005] In the same way as the bedside table described above, the wardrobe is configured with a body equipped with a bottom, a top, two sides, a back, and at least a front door hinged vertically on the side. The floor support of the wardrobe can include conventional adjustable feet as at the discretion of the swivel wheels.

[0006] It has therefore been observed that the materials, usually used in the construction of bedside tables and wardrobes, can be of different materials, including metal, formerly in pseudoplastic laminated materials in combination with wood veneers, and more recently mainly in molded plastic material , with elements assembled together to form the body or to constitute only some parts such as the top or support surface or even the shelves inside the compartment of the body. It can generally be agreed that the choice of the thermoplastic material rather than the metallic material or other materials used up to now, derives not only from evident lower production costs, but also from the fact that it is suitable for easy sanitation, since it is a component, which as part of the hospital furniture, it must be periodically treated in this way. The plastic material is still particularly suitable for the purpose due to the fact that it is easy to obtain shapes with geometries, which reduce if not even allow to eliminate the formation of receptacles.

of which some dirt may remain, otherwise difficult to remove and as such containing the possibility of facilitating bacterial proliferation.

State of the art

[0007] In the field of conventional furniture, it has therefore been seen that certain elements that make up said bedside tables such as wardrobes, for example the doors, have been known for some time, and in the same way those structures are known which integrate in a single piece of furniture both the function of the wardrobe and the bedside table, as well as the materials that are used for the realization.

[0008] As part of this knowledge, there is also the creation of elements for furniture components made of a material known as Corian <®>. Corian is a Du Pont registered trademark material, which is made up of a composite material consisting of 2/3 of aluminum hydroxide (trihydrate) and 1/3 of acrylic resin (polymethylmethacrylate) with optional addition of colored pigments.

It is a material that by definition is resistant to direct sunlight and its color remains almost unchanged over time, with good durability. It resists normal stresses, heat even if in direct contact, as long as it is only for a few moments. It is a translucent material, that is, a part of the light can pass through the material, it is scratch-resistant and can be sanitized. The use of this material in the furnishing sector is not entirely new, and for example it has found wide use in the production of valuable tops and worktops for kitchens in general, starting from a semi-finished product of adequate thickness in the form of flat sheet, then making the cut to size and then the edging to be mounted above the kitchen modules.

In the patent literature, some pre-existences can be traced, and for example in NL 1001066 (Fasting) other components in Corian are also described, such as for example handles for mounting on flat surfaces, for example a door or a drawer, starting from a strip of material cut from a sheet, heated and placed in a mold cavity in such a way as to give the desired shape. After folding, the handle is allowed to cool in the mold before removal. The Corian strip is preferably heated for 30760 'at 170 degrees C ° before bending and is allowed to cool in the mold according to a time-temperature curve which is generally a mirror image of the heating curve. Then the surfaces are drilled in correspondence of the fastening to the door and are polished after forming.

In US2006000538 (Cassels) a modular construction method is proposed for the construction of a kitchen, bathroom or other countertops from modular pieces in a single laminated piece. The method allows the preparation of prefabricated and modular pieces for example for a false ceiling obtained from material such as Corian or other similar material. Using the method, the customer selects a desired configuration and by composing modular pieces a worktop, kitchen top or bathroom unit can be provided that is a single piece, including the lamination of a custom sink basin to be integrated into any countertop. selected job. The method described allows for customized and modular production using standardized pieces, thus reducing construction costs and speeding up delivery times to a customer.

Drawbacks

[0009] The solutions mentioned above certainly effectively solve the problem of facilitating cleaning in hospital wards intended for inpatient hospitalization, however, they do not offer those advantages of their own, objectively found in products made of materials such as Corian or equivalent. In particular, one can reasonably agree as well as wanting to draw inspiration from these teachings in wanting to transfer the use of said material for example in the production of furnishing components, such as for example a solid door, the high purchase cost of the raw material, and the high number of scraps, in conventional processing, would make it practically uneconomical to manufacture said component, resulting in a non-competitive product at the end of the processing.

In this regard, it is also known that in the past there was an attempt to make doors in Corian, however the processing technology consisted of starting from a flat sheet and using tools to perform a processing in such a way as to obtain a rectangle of the desired size. This processing has therefore proved to be equally anti-economic making the product non-competitive, this being mainly due to the considerable waste material.

[0010] Another drawback can be found in the high specific weight of the Corian material, almost comparable to other materials used for some time in other solutions, such as the wood substitutes commonly used in the production of doors. Then there is the fact, however, that the solutions already described are not easy and quick to assemble in a versatile and modular form, moreover, they do not reasonably allow a rationalization of the production and management costs of the codes in stock.

Brief introduction to the subject of the present invention

[0011] This and other purposes are achieved with the present innovation according to the characteristics referred to in the attached claims, solving the problems set out by means of a production process which consists in starting from sheets of Corian material, of market size, to then obtain predefined strips of material where each strip is provided with at least one of the two dimensions, length and width which is a submultiple of the corresponding height or width of the sheet, optimizing the cutting of said sheet of Corian material and minimizing material waste. These strips of Corian material are subsequently joined using welding techniques by gluing with junctions between the upright and transom, possibly using pins or joining elements. In this way, a frame is created which is then completed by a central panel in material that is different from the frame, and where said frame is subsequently worked to create the shapes, the seats for the internal panel, the roundings, to eliminate the sharp edges, as well as the seats for fixing the hinges and the seats for a possible handle in Corian.

Aims

[0012] Various aims are achieved through the considerable creative contribution whose effect constitutes immediate technical progress.

[0013] First of all, the production process makes it possible to make the production of doors for wardrobes, wall units, base units or in general other elements for applications mainly in the healthcare sector economical and therefore making it easier and quicker to assemble the element of the cabinet, wall unit or base unit, without noticing the junction point. At the same time, a structure of low weight is achieved, which can be easily and correctly sanitized, modular and versatile in the final configuration, responding to the different requests of the customer.

[0014] These, and other advantages will appear from the following detailed description of some preferred construction solutions with the help of the attached schematic drawings whose execution details are not intended to be limiting but only examples.

Contents of the drawings

Figure 1 is a plan view of an example of cutting into strips of Corian material starting from a flat sheet.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the assembled frame.

Figure 3 is a view of detail A of the different joining techniques between the upright and the transom.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are still views of the assembled frame of Figure 2 in correspondence with which further processing is carried out.

Practical realization of the invention

[0015] The process according to the present invention provides for starting from semi-finished Corian sheets or even materials that are defined by equivalent technical characteristics.

In the state of the art, the prevalent formats of Corian material available in various standard thicknesses and easily workable by companies specializing in the desired sizes and shapes are currently the following:

- 4 mm sheets: 930 x 2490 mm

6 mm sheets: 760 x 2490 mm or 930 x 2490 mm

- 12 mm sheets: 760 x 3658 mm or 930 x 3658 mm 19 mm sheets: 760 x 3658 mm

The most common format is the plate (10) with a thickness of 12 mm and dimensions of 760 x 3658 mm.

In the case under examination, the production process object of the present patent consists in starting from said plates (10) having the above mentioned dimensions from which to derive, from each, parallel strips (20) such that at least one of the two dimensions, length and width, of each strip (20) constitutes a submultiple of at least one of the two dimensions, length and width, of the plate (10) in such a way as to optimize the cutting of said plate (10) and thus minimizing the waste of material (Figure 1). The said strips of Corian material (20) are joined, coplanar and head, forming the uprights and crosspieces of the frame (100) using techniques of welding by gluing with joints between the said upright and the crosspiece, such as those indicated in Figure 3, and in more detail with a joint angle (200) of the 90 ° or 45 ° type or alternatively with a continuous and linear joint. Further, it is noted that while weighing on the economic aspect, junction pins (210) or other joining elements, always made of Corian, or other metal or non-metal hardware in general, could still be used at the head.

[0016] In this way an assembled frame (100) is obtained. The said frame (100) is then worked by means of numerical control machines to create the appropriate shapes, for example the seats for the internal panel (110), the roundings (120) to eliminate the sharp edges, to make the seats (130) for the hinges and to obtain the seats (140) for a possible Corian handle (150) (see eg Figures 4, 5 and 6).

[0017] The door is then completely polished and finished. Where present, we proceed with the gluing of the handle and the subsequent polishing and finishing around the gluing area. Finally, the door is completed by gluing an internal panel (160) made of glass or other material (Figure 6). The role of the central infill panel (160) in glass or other material is essential in order to obtain a finished door that is economically advantageous for the market by competing as a whole to create a robust structure. The central glass panel (160) can have any type of finish from clear to varying degrees of opacity, from smooth to sandblasted or other finishes not yet represented.

Legend:

(10) Corian plate

(20) strip

(200) joint angle

(210) thorns

(100) frame

(110) seats for the internal panel (120) rounding

(130) hinge seats (140) handle seats (150) Corian handle (160) glass panel

Claims (3)

CLAIMS 1. A procedure for making a door for furnishing elements in Corian-type composite material, in which, a) a plate of material (10) having at least one of the following dimensions is prepared; - 4 mm sheets: 930 x 2490 mm 6 mm sheets: 760 x 2490 mm or 930 x 2490 mm 12 mm sheets: 760 x 3658 mm or 930 x 3658 mm 19 mm plates: 760 x 3658 mm b) parallel strips (20) are obtained from said plate of material (10) so that at least one of the two dimensions, length and width, of each strip (20) constitutes a submultiple of at least one of the two dimensions, length and width of said plate (10) so as to optimize the cut of said plate (10); c) said strips (20) are joined coplanar, forming the uprights and crosspieces of the frame (100), with corner joint (200) of the 90 ° or 45 ° type, alternatively in a continuous and linear way; d) the seats (110) are made for the peripheral fixing of the internal infill panel (160), the seats for the rounding (120) to eliminate the sharp edges, the seats (130) for the hinges and the seats (140) for a possible handle in Corian (150); e) proceed with the gluing of the handle (150) and the subsequent polishing and finishing around the gluing area; f) finally, the door is completed by gluing an internal infill panel (160) with respect to the frame (100), which is made of a different material from the said frame (100). 2. A door, for furnishing elements, characterized by the fact that it consists of uprights and transoms in Corian (20) in such a way as to obtain a frame with a quadrangular geometric shape (100), to which said frame (100) is joined is an infill panel (160) circumscribed by the said uprights and crosspieces in Corian (20), and to which a handle (150) is joined in correspondence with one of the said uprights or crosspieces. 3. A door for furnishing elements according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the infill panel (160) supported by the frame (100) is made of glass material.