EP0231168A1

EP0231168A1 - Method for fabricating furniture and method for assembling furniture, furniture prepacked in kits and final furniture obtained

Info

Publication number: EP0231168A1
Application number: EP19850903666
Authority: EP
Inventors: André GARCIA
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-07-24
Filing date: 1985-07-24
Publication date: 1987-08-12
Also published as: WO1987000406A1

Abstract

Procédé de fabrication d'un meuble appelé en particulier à être conditionné en kit. Ce procédé consiste à pratiquer des structures d'emboîtement conjuguées mâles et femelles, le long de chants et de faces de panneaux. Ces structures, adaptées pour autoriser un glissement longitudinal de la structure mâle dans la structure femelle sans possibilité de dégagement transversal, sont en particulier en forme de queue-d'aronde; elles sont agencées le long des chants et bordures de faces des panneaux, de façon que chacun de ceux-ci puissent coopérer par lesdites structures le long d'au moins deux côtés opposés avec les panneaux contigus. Le meuble peut être monté par l'utilisateur par mises en place successives des panneaux les uns par rapport aux autres en emboîtant leurs structures d'emboîtement conjuguées.Method of manufacturing a piece of furniture which is called in particular to be packaged as a kit. This process consists in practicing conjugate male and female interlocking structures, along edges and faces of panels. These structures, adapted to allow a longitudinal sliding of the male structure in the female structure without the possibility of transverse clearance, are in particular in the form of a dovetail; they are arranged along the edges and edges of the faces of the panels, so that each of these can cooperate by said structures along at least two opposite sides with the adjoining panels. The piece of furniture can be assembled by the user by successive positioning of the panels with respect to each other by fitting their conjugate nesting structures.

Description

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A FURNITURE, FURNITURE CONDITIONED IN KIT AND FINAL FURNITURE OBTAINED.

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a furniture of generally polyhedral shape, in particular rectangular parallelepiped; it extends to a piece of furniture packaged in a kit, ready to be assembled by a user, and to its assembly process. It also targets the final furniture obtained.

We know that the distribution of furniture in kits has become common due to the advantages of this type of presentation: reduction in the cost of transport, faculty of mail order, lowering of the cost price of the furniture (no assembly) ... furniture in kit currently existing are generally assembled thanks to systems of screws and èσrous, which come to cooperate with bores made during the manufacture in suitable places.

However, this type of furniture is relatively long to assemble, requires a certain skill on the part of the operator, and requires a minimum of tools. In addition, the numerous holes to be drilled during manufacture at precise locations are a factor in increasing the cost price of these pieces of furniture, all the more so since defects in the positioning of these holes can make the piece of furniture impossible to then go up. In addition, certain screws are screwed on edges in the panels constituting the piece of furniture and, for certain light materials (agglomerated wood ...), there is a risk of material bursting at the level of said screws. Finally, it should be noted that certain screw heads are visible on this furniture, which harms their aesthetic character.

The present invention proposes to overcome the above-mentioned defects of existing kit furniture.

An essential objective of the invention is in particular to provide a new piece of furniture in a kit, the mounting of which can be carried out without any screws or the like, without requiring any particular skill.

Another objective of the invention is to reduce the cost price of the furniture by eliminating all or almost all of the drilling operations which are necessary to manufacture the known furniture.

Another objective is to improve the quality of the furniture by eliminating the risks of local bursting of the material.

Another objective is to improve the aesthetic appearance of the furniture produced.

The manufacturing process targeted by the invention makes it possible to produce furniture of generally polyhedral shape, in particular hexahedral, from panels in the shape of polygons, in particular of quadrilaterals, suitable for constituting the faces of the furniture; in accordance with the present invention, this manufacturing process consists of: . to practice conjugate interlocking structures, male and female, along the edges of the panels and along the edges of their faces called to come into contact with said edges, each male interlocking structure and each female interlocking structure being adapted to allow a longitudinal sliding of the male structure in the female structure without the possibility of transverse clearance,

. arranging these interlocking structures along the edges and edges of the faces, so that each panel can cooperate by said structures along at least two opposite sides, with the adjoining panels,

. and to assemble the piece of furniture by successive positioning of the panels with respect to each other by fitting their conjugate nesting structures.

By "longitudinal sliding" means a directional sliding parallel to the interlocking structure concerned, that is to say parallel to the edge or to the edge of the panel which carries said structure; the "transverse" direction with respect to a given interlocking structure is defined as a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction mentioned above.

Generally, the piece of furniture has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, its panels being rectangular. However, the invention can be applied to manufacture shaped furniture different polyhedral.

The interlocking structures practiced along the edges and edges of the panels are preferably structures in the form of dovetails (in relief for the male structures and in hollow for the female structures). This type of nesting has several advantages: ease of realization by means of universal machines (chainsaw - double tenoner), good resistance of the elements, easy sliding during assembly ... However, other forms of nestings can if necessary be adopted: section in the shape of a circle sector, rectangular section with reduced width entry ...

The method of the invention can be implemented using panels made of a wood-based material (in particular wood agglomerate); in this case, the panels preferably include: a base reinforced by a solid frame, a front panel reinforced by a solid frame, an upper panel reinforced by a solid frame, two side panels and a rear panel. Depending on the type of furniture desired, the front panel is formed by its rigid frame in which a door is articulated or by its rigid frame provided with means of drawer supports.

The furniture according to the invention is assembled without screws or the like, and consists of:. to introduce through the open end of a female interlocking structure of the base a male interlocking structure of a panel lateral, and sliding said panel so as to cause said structures to cooperate along their length,

. to repeat this operation for the other side panel, said side panels being arranged so that their female structures are arranged vertically at the rear,

. to set up the front panel and the rear panel, causing their interlocking structures to slide along the combined structures of the two side panels,

. to set up the upper panel by causing its female interlocking structures to slide along the interlocking structures. two side panels.

This fitting based on sockets does not require any particular skill and can be carried out by any person without any tool. It should be noted that the manufacturing method according to the invention extends to both kit furniture and traditional furniture assembled in the factory. In the first case, the six disassembled panels (provided with their interlocking structures) are superimposed and conditioned in the factory, the assembly operation being carried out in a later phase by the user (or the distributor). The furniture is of interest in the second case because of its reduced manufacturing cost and, also, of its easily removable character. Furthermore, according to another characteristic of the invention, locking means adapted to prevent sliding of the last panel mounted relative to one of the adjoining panels are put in place at the end of assembly; these locking means are in particular arranged on the front panel and the upper panel so as to block the latter relative to the first, at the end of its installation.

The invention extends, as such, to furniture packaged as a kit, composed of quadrangular panels, provided along edges or on the edges of faces, interlocking structures, male or female, of the type defined above.

Finally, the invention extends, as such, to the furniture obtained after assembly, comprising quadrangular panels, rigidly held to each other by means of structures, male and female, of the above-mentioned type, nested two by two .

The invention set out above in its general form will be better understood on reading the description which follows and on examining the appended drawings which show two embodiments thereof by way of non-limiting example; on these drawings which form an integral part of this description:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the panels of a piece of furniture according to the invention, before assembly; - Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show schematically the assembly operations of this piece of furniture;

- Figures 6 and 7 are detail views of said piece of furniture;

- Figure 8 is a partial section through a horizontal plane;

Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view, showing after assembly a piece of furniture of a different type;

- Figures 10 to 15 are detailed views of variants.

The piece of furniture shown by way of example in FIGS. 1 to 8 is made up of six rectangular panels, manufactured in the factory and packaged in a package to be assembled by the user; these panels include (in the order of their assembly): a base 1, two side panels 2 and 3, a front panel 4, a rear panel 5 and an upper panel 6.

The base 1 is formed of a solid wooden frame 1a to which is attached a filling element 1b made of wood agglomerate; this element 1b can be fixed to the base by any known means (tenons and mortises glued, nailing, etc.).

Along its two lateral edges, the base 1 comprises two female interlocking structures 7 and 8 which are formed on its frame. Each of these structures has a section in the form of hollow dovetail, as illustrated in detail figure 6: it comprises a portion 7a of trapezoidal shape which tapers towards an inlet portion 7b of rectangular shape.

The female interlocking structures 7 and 8 of the base open out at the rear of said base at 7c and 8c, but stop a short distance in front of it, where they are closed (7d, 8d).

The two side panels 2 and 3 are identical and each formed by a chipboard panel.

Each of these panels 2 (or 3) comprises, on three edges, three male interlocking structures, one 9 (or 9 ') along the lower edge, the other 10 (or 10') along the edge front and third 11 (or 11 ') along the upper edge.

Each of these male interlocking structures has a cross section suitable for being housed in a female structure already described, as shown in Figure 6: this structure has a dovetail shape in relief, combined with the trapezoidal portion 7a of the female structure; the portion 7b of the latter has a width adapted to the thickness of the panel 2, so that the latter can penetrate said portion.

The female and male structures are produced either by routing or by ripping, using a chainsaw-tenoner, with little play adapted to allow the longitudinal sliding of the male structures in the female structures.

In addition, each side panel 2 or 3 comprises a female interlocking structure 12 (or 12 ′) along a front edge, not contiguous to the edges carrying the male structures 9, 10 and 11.

The front panel 4 is formed of a solid wooden frame 4a on which is hinged a door 4b.

Along its opposite vertical edges, the frame 4a carries two female interlocking structures 13 and 14 of the type described above, which open towards the rear and open on both sides in the upper part and in the lower part.

In addition, as illustrated in the detail section 7, the frame 4a carries in its upper cross member a locking member 15 called to cooperate, at the end of assembly, with a conjugated socket 16 carried by the upper panel 6. This member 15 comprises in the example a hollow body 15a fixed in the frame 4a, a closing washer 15b fixed on the body and pierced in its center, a movable locking rod 15c secured to a pusher 15d and a spring 15e. The body forms an interior cavity of a shape adapted to accommodate the pusher 15d; said body and said pusher comprise latching means, of a type known per se, making it possible to give the pusher two stable positions: one as shown, in which the locking rod 15c protrudes through the bore of the washer 15b, the other in which the rod 15c retracts into said washer. The passage from one position to the other is effected by a push on the pusher 15d (the latching means generate a rotation thereof, which allows, at the same time, to ensure the stability of the two aforementioned positions and the passage from one position to the other by a simple push: these latching means known per se are in particular provided on certain ball-point pens).

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the door 4b of the front panel 4 is formed by a frame 17 of solid wood and by a removable filling element 18, for example decorated plywood panel. This door is articulated on the frame 4a by hinges of the conventional type (not shown) which are fixed to the frame 17.

To allow the filling element 18 to be easily changed, the frame 17 has a peripheral groove on edge, which is open towards the rear on the upper and lower edges (FIG. 7) and which, on the contrary, forms on the edges lateral a retaining groove around the element 18 (Figure 8). On one of the side edges, this groove has an increased depth to allow the filling element 18 to be released. Thus, it is possible to very easily modify the decorative appearance of the door 4b, either by turning the element 18 over, or by replacing it with another element. The rear panel 5 is formed by a chipboard panel and has on its two vertical side edges two male interlocking structures 19 and 20 of the type described above.

Finally, the upper panel 6 is formed by a solid wooden frame 6a, in which a filling element 6b made of wood agglomerate is fixed. At its front part, this element 6b is provided with the socket 16 already mentioned, in an appropriate position to come opposite the locking rod 15c of the member 15, at the end of mounting of the upper panel 6.

This upper panel 6 comprises two female interlocking structures (which can be seen at 21 and 22 in FIG. 5 drawn with parts broken away). These female structures of the type already defined are arranged along the two opposite lateral edges of the panel 6, on the frame 6a thereof. These structures 21 and 22 open at the rear of said panel 6 and stop a short distance in front of it, where they are closed.

The various elements of the furniture described above are conditioned as a kit by superimposing them in a package, in order to be assembled by the user, without any screws, bolts or any tools.

The mounting process is described below with reference to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. The operator first sets up the side panels 2 and 3 on the base 1 (Figure 2). It introduces the male structure 9 of each side panel, through the rear open end 7c (or 8c) of the female structure 7 (or 8) of the base 1.

11 then slides the side panel until it comes up against the front 7d (or 8d) of the female structure 7 (or 8).

The operator then sets up the front panel 4 (FIG. 3), by bringing the female structures 13 and 14 thereof above the male structures 10 and 10 ′ of the side panels, by engaging these female structures on these structures and sliding the panel down until it contacts the base 1.

The rear panel 5 is then put in place (FIG. 4) by bringing the male structures 19 and 20 of this panel above the female structures

12 and 12 'of the side panels, by introducing these male structures into these female structures and sliding the panel downwards until it contacts the base 1.

Of course, the two preceding operations, illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, can be carried out in the reverse order.

The operator then sets up the upper panel 6 (Figure 5). It presents this panel from the front so that its female structures 21 and 22 are located opposite the structures upper male 11 and 11 'of the two side panels, it engages said female structures on said male structures and it slides panel 6 horizontally backwards until the front part of its female structures 21 and 22 abuts against the front part of the male structures 11 and 11 '.

At this instant, the locking rod 15c of the member 15 (which was in the retracted position) comes to be positioned opposite the socket 16. By opening the door, the operator presses, from inside the cabinet, on the push button 15d and the upper panel is locked.

The whole piece of furniture is thus blocked without risk of accidental displacement of one element with respect to another, as long as the rod remains protruding in the socket, in the locked position. For disassembly, simply press the pusher 15d again to retract the rod 15σ.

It is easy to assemble the furniture which is done by a simple interlocking and sliding game, without screws or similar member.

It should be noted that, once assembled, the piece of furniture, the elements of which are held and locked relative to one another by their interlocking structures, forms a non-deformable whole; the solid wood frames of the base 1, the front panel 4 and the upper panel 6 contribute to give the furniture excellent overall rigidity. In addition, no functional organ appears on the visible faces of the piece of furniture, which has the traditional appearance of a dismountable piece of furniture made entirely in the factory.

Of course, the piece of furniture is provided internally with conventional arrangements, in particular shelves carried in a conventional manner by dowels, cleats, cleats or other known means, provided internally on the side panels 2 and 3.

Figure 9 shows schematically another type of furniture, manufactured and mounted in a similar manner to the above, but provided with drawers. The front panel is then constituted by a rigid frame 23 provided with means for supporting the drawers, such as spacers 24; the side panels carry guide and support strips for said drawers.

3ien course, other types of furniture can be made by the method of the invention, which extends to all possible variants.

Thus, it makes it possible to produce pieces of furniture possibly having an upper or lower drawer, and preserving an empty volume for embedding a device, oven, dishwasher, washing machine. It also makes it possible to produce furniture suspended by its rear part using suspension lugs. For some furniture, the panels upper will be adapted to act as work plan (solid wood, laminated chipboard with laminated edges, or solid).

Furthermore, Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 illustrate variants of nesting structures capable of equipping the furniture according to the invention; the structures shown in Figures 10 to 14 are executed by routing, while that of Figure 15 is profiled by routing and routing.

It should be noted that the piece of furniture delivered as a kit can, if necessary, be mounted definitively by its user by placing glue on the interlocking structures before their installation.

Claims

1 / - Method for manufacturing a generally polyhedral piece of furniture from panels (1, 2,

3, 4, 5, 6) in the form of polygons suitable for constituting the faces of the piece of furniture, characterized in that it consists:

. to practice conjugate interlocking structures, male (9) and female (7), along the edges of the panels and along the edges of their faces called to come into contact with said edges, each male interlocking structure (9) and each female nesting structure. (7) being adapted to allow a longitudinal sliding of the male structure in the female structure without the possibility of transverse clearance;

. arranging these interlocking structures along the edges and edges of the faces, so that each panel can cooperate by said structures along at least two opposite sides, with the adjoining panels;

. and to assemble the piece of furniture by successive positioning of the panels with respect to each other by fitting their conjugate nesting structures. 2 / - Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the interlocking structures formed along the edges and edges are structures in the form of dovetails, in relief for the male structures (9) and hollow for female structures (7).

3 / - Method according to one of claims 1 or 2 for the manufacture of a piece of furniture in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped from rectangular panels, characterized in that:

. we practice on two identical panels (2, 3) called to come opposite to each other, four interlocking structures (9, 10, 11, 12; 9 ', 10', 11 ' , 12 ') along the four sides of each of said panels;

and practicing on each of the other four panels (1, 4, 5, 6) two interlocking structures (7, 8; 13, 14; 19, 20; 21, 22) along two opposite sides of each of said panels.

4 / - Method according to claim 3, characterized in that:

. three male structures (9, 10, 11; 9 ', 10', 11 ') and a female interlocking structure (12, 12') are practiced on each of the two aforementioned panels (2, 3); two male interlocking structures (19, 20) are practiced on one of the other panels (5);

two female interlocking structures (7, 8; 13, 14; 21, 22) are practiced on each of the other three panels (1, 4, 6).

5 / - Method according to one of claims 3 or 4, wherein panels are used in a wood-based material, said panels comprising a base (1) reinforced by a solid frame (la), a front panel (4 ) reinforced by a solid frame (4a), an upper panel (6) reinforced by a solid frame (6a), two side panels (2, 3) and a rear panel (5).

6 / - Method according to claims 4 and 5 taken together, characterized in that one practices:

. two female interlocking structures (7, 8) along the lateral edges of the base (1);

. two female interlocking structures (13, 14) along the side edges of the front panel (4);

. two female interlocking structures (21, 22) along the side edges of the upper panel (6);

. three male interlocking structures (9, 10, 11; 9 ', 10', 11 ') along the edges upper, front and lower of each side panel (2, 3), and a female interlocking structure (12, 12 ') along the rear edge of each of said side panels;

. two male interlocking structures (19, 20) along the side edges of the rear panel (5).

7 / - Method according to one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that one puts in place locking means (15, 16) adapted to prohibit sliding end of assembly of the last panel mounted (6) relative to one of the adjoining panels (4).

8 / - Manufacturing process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the disassembled panels, provided with their nesting structures are superimposed and packaged in a factory, the assembly operation being carried out in a later phase .

9 / - Furniture conditioned in kit, characterized in that it comprises quadrangular panels (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), provided along edges or at the edge of faces, of male interlocking structures ( 9) and females (7), each male interlocking structure (9) and each female interlocking structure (7) being adapted to allow longitudinal sliding of the male structure in the female structure without the possibility of transverse release. 10 / - Furniture packaged in kit according to claim 9, characterized in that the nesting structures consist of dovetails, in relief for the male structures (9) and hollow for the female structures (7) .

11 / - Furniture packaged in kit according to one of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that it comprises six panels of generally rectangular shapes:

. a base (1) reinforced by a rigid frame (la), provided with two female interlocking structures (7, 8) along two opposite edges,

. a front panel (4) reinforced by a rigid frame (4a), provided with two female interlocking structures (13, 14) along two opposite edges;

. an upper panel (6) reinforced by a rigid frame (6a), provided with two female interlocking structures (21, 22) along two opposite edges;

. two side panels (2, 3), each with three male interlocking structures (9, 10, 11; 9 ', 10', 11 ') along three edges and a female interlocking structure (12 , 12 ') along a front edge, not contiguous to said edges; a rear panel (5) provided with two male interlocking structures (19, 20) along two opposite edges.

12 / - Furniture conditioned in kit according to claim 11, characterized in that the female nesting structures (7, 8; 21, 22) of the base (1) and the upper panel (6) open at the rear of these panels and are closed at the front of them.

13 / - Furniture packaged according to one of claims 11 or 12, characterized in that the front panel (4) and the upper panel (6) comprise locking means (15, 16), adapted to be able to cooperate in end of assembly of the upper panel (6).

14 / - Furniture packaged according to one of claims 11, 12 or 13, wherein the front panel (4) is formed by a rigid frame (4a) on which is articulated a door (4b).

15 / - Furniture packaged in kit according to claim 14, characterized in that the aforementioned door (4b) comprises a frame (17) provided with a peripheral groove on edge, and a removable filling element (18) held by its periphery in said groove, the latter being adapted to allow the withdrawal of said filling element (18).

16 / - Furniture conditioned in kit according to one of claims 11, 12, 13, wherein the panel front is formed by a rigid frame (23) provided with means (24) for supporting drawers.

17 / - Method for mounting a piece of furniture packaged in kit according to one of claims 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16, characterized in that it consists:

. to be introduced through the open end of a female interlocking structure (7, 8) of the base (1) tine male interlocking structure (9, 9 ') of a side panel (2, 3), and to sliding said panel so as to cause said structures to cooperate along their length;

. repeating this operation for the other side panel, said side panels being arranged so that their female structures (12, 12 ') are arranged vertically at the rear;

. to set up the front panel (4) and the rear panel (5), causing their nesting structures (13, 14; 19, 20) to slide along the conjugate structures (10, 10 '; 12, 12 ') of the two side panels (2, 3);

. positioning the upper panel (6) by causing its female interlocking structures (21, 22) to slide along the male interlocking structures (11, 11 ') of the two side panels (2, 3). 18 / - Furniture produced by implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises panels (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) rigidly held together , by means of combined male and female structures (7, 8; 9, 10, 11, 12; 9 ', 10', 11 ', 12'; 13, 14; 19, 20; 21, 22), said structures 'nesting being arranged along the edges of the panels and along the edges of their faces and nested in pairs, and having shapes, in particular dovetails (9, 7), adapted to prohibit their transverse release.