WO1991016839A1

WO1991016839A1 - Edge profiles for edging of hardboards for cabinets and hardboards with such edge profiles and a cabinet provided with these edge profiles

Info

Publication number: WO1991016839A1
Application number: PCT/DK1991/000125
Authority: WO
Inventors: Torben Mogensen
Original assignee: T.M. Line A/S
Priority date: 1990-05-10
Filing date: 1991-05-10
Publication date: 1991-11-14
Also published as: EP0487663A1; DK118190D0

Abstract

Edge profiles for edging of hardboards, such as chipboards, core boards, laminated boards for cabinets or similar units are designed so that they can be pushed across the edge of the board and be retained by a snap lock effect, preferably in the form of a protruding edge or torus at the flap or flaps of the profile intended to enter into engagement with a longitudinal groove at the edge of the board. For sliding doors the profiles are provided with slide strips and guide strips for the doors. The traditional edging of the boards is thus rendered superfluous at the same time achieving that the profiles act as a support and guide for the doors. Furthermore the profiles can be delivered separately for knock-down furniture.

Description

Edge profiles for edging of hardboards for cabinets an hardboards with such edge profiles and a cabinet provided with these edge profiles.

The invention concerns edge profiles for edging of hardboards for cabinets and hardboard having such an edge profile and a cabinet provided with these edge profiles.

As an example detached wardrobes with subcupboards and wall cupboards provided with sliding doors are usually produced in hardboard such as chipboard, core board, laminated board or the like. The boards are typically veneered with wooden or sheet veneer or lacquered and the front edges edged with a solid wooden strip of a species of wood corresponding to the veneer. In cases of sheet veneer the edging can also be a thin synthetic strip. If the boards are lacquered, the fronts are edged anyway because the edges of hardboards are difficult to lacquer with a satisfactory result and furthermore solid wood is much more knock-proof than the edges of hardboards, which also appear rather sharp. The cabinets can also be manufactured of laminated board where the fronts may be edged by e.g. a thin synthetic strip or a solid wooden strip. At the bottom and at the upper side of the intermediate bottom two continuous plastic sliding strips are inserted into two grooves running parallel to the front edge. At the lower side of the intermediate- bottom and the roof two tracks are made also running parallel to the fronts, in which tracks the doors are guided by upwardly protruding pegs in the upper edge. At the bottom of the doors a groove is made, in which slide blocks are mounted, which slide on the sliding strips.

Incidentally the cabinets are designed according to the knock-down principle, i.e. they are sold in indi¬ vidual units by the shop packed in a flat carton intended for the buyer to assemble the cabinet himself solely using simple hand tools such as a screwdriver, an Allen key and a hammer. This causes the necessity of the individual components to be manufactured with such ac¬ curacy that all adjustment between the components is superfluous. It is a feature of the knock-down principle that the construction shall be of such uncomplicated nature for the buyer that almost anyone can assemble a cabinet without having special knowledge.

The edging is a substantially cost-increasing phase in the production process. It is not complicated in itself to manufacture the grooves for the sliding tracks as it can be adapted to the production line. The snag lies in the insertion of the sliding strips into the grooves. Neither do the tracks for guiding of the upper edge of the doors present any great problem as the mak¬ ing of these can also be adapted to the production line. The problem with the tracks is that they must be rela¬ tively deep and consequently they weaken the front edge. The tracks have in fact to be sufficiently deep for allowing the doors, when being inserted or removed, to be lifted adequately for the lower edge of the doors to go free of the sliding strips, and when the doors are in position the edges of the tracks have to reach suf¬ ficiently down around the guide pins in the upper edges of the doors for them to offer an efficient guiding.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a simple edge profile as far as design is concerned, which is easy to install and which at the same time can guide the lower and/or upper edges of the doors.

This task is achieved by an edge profile, which is designed such that it can be pushed in across the front edges of the board, or it can be pushed in from the end. The design of the edge profiles is adapted to the specific positions. For a wardrobe of the type initially mentioned, the profile for the bottom is provided with two sliding strips, while the profile for the inter¬ mediate bottom besides the sliding strips is provided with two guide strips for guiding of the upper edges of the doors. Finally the profile for the top is provided with guide strips for guiding of the upper edges of the doors. The two end walls are also provided with edge profiles. That is to say that for a wardrobe four dif¬ ferent profiles are required. These are appropriately manufactured of extruded aluminium and can be lacquered in the required colour. The profiles are expediently secured by a snap lock connection as at least one of the flaps of the profile engaging across the sides of the board is provided with one or more projecting portions which enter into locking engagement with corresponding recesses at the sides of the board. The recesses can be a continuous groove at either side, parallel to the front edge, down into which a projecting edge at both flaps of the profile can engage. This distinguishes itself by the feature of the profile simply can be clicked on by being pushed in over the edge of the board until engagement or by being pushed in from the end. The retaining force does not necessarily have to be parti¬ cularly strong as no significant weight is present in the plane of the board. In order to ensure a good retaining force and to ensure that the flaps of the profile abut planely at the sides of the board, the flaps converge slightly towards one another such that they per se tighten around the board. The design is preferably such that the flaps lie above the sides of the board, but the side edges of the board can of course be planed off or milled off such that the flaps become flush with the sides of the board. In order to facili¬ tate the mounting, the outermost of the front edges of the boards can be bevelled such that it is easier to catch and centre the profile, and especially in the embodiment where the flaps converge towards one another. a bevelling is advantageous as the flaps with their foremost ends slide along the bevel and are forced open across the board. Alternatively the section of the pro¬ file connecting the two flaps can be provided with a projecting wall, which is pressed into a groove in the front edge of the board during mounting. The wall is then preferably provided with a joggle retaining it in the groove. Other methods of fixing the profile are by glue and/or screws, just as these can be applied in com¬ bination with the previously mentioned fixing means.

Despite the above description primarily concerning wardrobes, the profile can obviously be used for cabinets in general including cabinets having hinged doors. The hinges can, if necessary, be designed con¬ stituting part of the profiles, or the profiles can be adapted to existing hinges, just as the profile can also be used for book cases and such furniture, the primary structure of which is reposing on hardboards.

An embodiment of the invention as a wardrobe shall be explained in further detail as follows with reference to the attached drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a wardrobe.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the ward¬ robe in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a section of an intermediate bottom and an edge profile therefor.

Figs. 4-7 are cross sections of a side edge pro¬ file, a bottom edge profile, an intermediate edge pro¬ file and a top profile in a slightly modified design.

The wardrobe consists of a bottom 2, an inter¬ mediate bottom 4, a top 6 as well as two end walls 8, 10 all in veneered chip board and having rough edges, mean¬ ing they are not edged. The reference 12 indicates a piece of base. The sub-cabinet 14 has two sliding doors 16 and so has the top cabinet 18, also of veneered chip¬ board.

The edges of the body (the cabinet without doors) are provided with edge profiles of the same basic con¬ struction but adapted to the individual components.

For description of these, the starting point shall be the edge profile for the intermediate bottom shown in Fig. 3. The profile 20 has two flaps 22, 24 reaching in across the board 4 and connected to a front edge 26 parallel to the edge of the board. At the upper flap 24 there are two sliding strips 28 for the upper doors 20 in the lower edge of which in a groove is inserted a slide shoe 30 fitting the slide strips. At the lower flap 20 there are two parallel guide strips 32 posi¬ tioned down into a groove 34 in the upper edge of the lower doors. In order to cover the slip between the doors 16 and the intermediate bottom 4, which is neces¬ sary for insertion of the doors such that they can be lifted up onto the slide strips, the front edge of the profile is led down to level with the guide strips 32.

The outermost slide strip 28 and guide strip 32 form the end of the flaps and are continued into a pro¬ jecting edge 34 at the inner side, which inwardly stands perpendicularly on the flaps and outwardly has an oblique edge cooperating with bevel 36 of the edges of the intermediate bottom.

At the front edge 26 the distance between the two flaps corresponds to the thickness of the intermediate bottom, while with their outer ends they run towards one another such that the flaps press around the bottom.

At the mounting the oblique edges of the profile meet the bevel 36 of the board, slide onto it and are forced open across the board until the projecting edges 34 at the inner side enter into engagement with two opposedly situated grooves in the board. The profile is locked due to the spring effect in the legs and the sharply projecting edges. The grooves are situated at such a distance at the board that the front 26 of the profile lies up against the edge of the board, thus preventing the profile from inadvertently becoming further pressed in by the projections becoming pressed out of the grooves.

The profile 40 for the top is similar, but without the two slide strips, and the uppermost flap is shortened. The profile 42 for the bottom 2 is similar, too, but here without the two guide strips and the lowermost flap is here shortened likewise.

The profiles have the same basic construction at the end walls 8, 10 with two flaps catching through the edge of the board and at the inner side of the edge having projecting edges, which enter into engagement with two opposedly situated grooves in the board. The front edge of one profile 44 is extended at the side facing the cabinet such that the edge of the door goes behind this hiding possible inaccuracies in the con¬ nection between the side of the cabinet and the door. The other profile 46 is similar, although it is led around the edge to the innermost door here correspond¬ ingly covering inaccuracies in the connection. However, the side edge profile may well be used without these side extensions.

It is obvious, too, that instead of the slide strips 28 grooves may be provided in the flaps entering onto the inner side, at the same time acting as a lock down into tracks at the side of the board, just as the profiles 32 instead can be made as walls in tracks for accommodation of the upper edge of the door in its entire thickness.

Even though the invention here is described especially in connection with wardrobes, it concerns cabinets in general, such as filing cabinets, kitchen cupboards, clinic cabinets, tool cabinets etc. Figs. 4-7 of the drawing show in cross section a set of profiles in a final design where the main dif¬ ference is that the profiles are retained by a single torus 48 somewhat along the flap and catching down into the groove 50. Furthermore the profiles lie on top of the sides of the board and are not bottom swaged. The side edge profile 52, which has a rounded-off front edge, is still being retained at both sides of the board and has a loose cover profile 54 for covering the edge, where the cabinet doors abut on the sides. The function and method of operation are entirely as described above.

Claims

C L A I M S .

1. Edge profiles for edging of hardboards such as chipboards, core boards, laminated boards for cabinets and such like, characterized in that the profiles are of metal and designed such that they can be pushed across the edge of the board and retained by a snap lock con¬ nection.

2. Edge profiles according to claim 1, charac¬ terized in that at least one of the flaps of the pro¬ files, which is catching across the sides of the board, is provided with one or more projecting portions that enter into locking engagement with thereto corresponding recesses at the sides of the board.

3. Edge profiles according to claim 2, charac¬ terized in that the recesses are a continuous groove, at least at one side of the board and parallel to the front edge of the board, down into which a projecting edge or torus of the flap or flaps of the profile can engage.

4. Edge profiles according to claims l, 2 or 3, characterized in that the flaps converge slightly to¬ wards one another, such that they per se tighten around the board.

5. Edge profiles according to claim 1 for cabinets having sliding doors, characterized in that a lowermost profile is provided with sliding strips (28) for the lower edges of the doors and an upper profile is pro¬ vided with guide strips (32) for the upper edges of the doors.

6. Hardboards for furniture provided with edge profiles according to claims 1-5.

7. A hardboard according to claim 6, characterized in that the front edge has bevelled edges to facilitate the mounting of the edge profiles.

8. A cabinet provided with an edge profile accord¬ ing to claims 1-5.

9. A cabinet according to claim 8, characterized in that the front edge of the body of the cabinet is pro¬ vided with the edge profiles.

10. A cabinet according to claim 9 having two sets of sliding doors above one another, characterized in that the lowermost edge of the cabinet is provided with an edge profile with slide strips for the lower doors, and that an intermediate edge is provided with an edge profile, downwardly having guide strips for the lower doors and upwardly slide strips for the upper doors, and that the uppermost edge is provided with an edge profile with guide strips for the upper doors and that the side edges of the cabinet likewise is provided with edge profile.