CUSTOM FRAMELESS CABINETMAKING SYSTEM

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a 31.75 mm (1.25) system that represents a new and improved custom frameless cabinet design and manufacturing method specifically for the North American market where imperial measurement system is used. The system is based on the concept of worldwide prevailing 32 mm European frameless cabinet making system and uses all existing 32 mm system machinery and tools. By using ready-to-use panel parts and corner cabinets, this system greatly increases custom cabinetry's manufacturing efficiency and all but eliminates the conversion proximity and error when using standard European 32 mm system.

Claims

1. A frameless cabinet system providing efficiency to a consumer and a manufacturer by reducing the number of unique cabinet components required by a standard frameless cabinet system, wherein the frameless cabinet system comprises: (a) one or more base cabinets (100) each comprising: (i) a base left side panel (102); (ii) a base right side panel (104), wherein the base left side panel (102) and the base right side panel (104) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising an arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the base left side panel (102) and through an interior surface of the base right side panel (104), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (107) of the base side panel into which the first hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; (iii) a base back panel (106), inset between the base right side panel (104), and the base left side panel (102); and (iv)a toe kick front panel (114) as part of an integrated toe kick (120) of each base cabinet; (b) one or more wall cabinets (200) each comprising: (i) a wall left side panel (202); (ii) a wall right side panel (204), wherein the wall left side panel (202) and the wall right side panel (204) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the wall left side panel (202) and through an interior surface of the wall right side panel (204), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (207) of the wall side panel into which the first hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; and (iii) a wall back panel (206) inset between the wall right side panel (204), and the wall left side panel (202); and (c) one or more tall top cabinets (300) each comprising: (i) a tall top left side panel (302); (ii) a tall top right side panel (304), wherein the tall top left side panel (302), and the tall top right side panel (304), are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the tall top left side panel (302) and through an interior surface of the tall top right side panel (304), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (307) of the tall top side panel into which the first hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; and (iii) a tall top back panel (306) inset between the tall top right side panel (304), and the tall top left side panel (302); wherein a depth of the one or more tall top cabinets (300) is equal to a depth of the one or more base cabinets (100); (d) one or more tall bottom cabinets (400) each comprising: (i) a tall bottom left side panel (402); (ii) a tall bottom right side panel (404), wherein the tall bottom left side panel (402) and the tall bottom right side panel (404) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the top bottom left side panel and through an interior surface of the top bottom right side panel, wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (407) of the tall bottom side panel into which the first hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; (iii) a tall bottom back panel (406) inset between the tall bottom right side panel (404) and the tall bottom left side panel (402); and (iv)a toe kick front panel (114) as part of the integrated toe kick (120); wherein a depth of the one or more tall bottom cabinets (400) is equal to the depth of the one or more base cabinets (100); (e) one or more base corner cabinets; and (f) one or more wall corner cabinets.

2. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein a height of the one or more tall top cabinets (300) and a height of the one or more wall cabinets (200) are equal.

3. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein the one or more base corner cabinets is a base Lazy Susan cabinet, a base blind corner cabinet, or a base diagonal cabinet.

4. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein the one or more wall corner cabinets is a wall Easy Reach cabinet, a wall blind corner cabinet, or a wall diagonal cabinet.

5. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) comprises two or more subsets of holes disposed in series, wherein each subset comprises a given number of holes, wherein an inter-subset distance is calculated in millimeters as: 32(0.25the given number of holes), wherein an effective inter-hole distance and an effective intra-set distance of the vertically aligned holes is 31.75 millimeters and permits use of standard cabinet hardware, which is designed for holes spaced 32 millimeters apart.

6. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein a color of an edge banding of the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), or tall bottom cabinets (400) matches a color of an interior of said cabinet.

7. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) each further comprise a cabinet door, one or more drawer front covers, or a combination thereof that employ a full overlay with a minimum reveal.

8. The frameless cabinet system of claim 7, wherein the minimum reveal comprises: a side reveal of 1/16 of an inch, a top reveal of of an inch, and a bottom reveal of zero inches.

9. The frameless cabinet system of claim 7, wherein the minimum reveal comprises a side reveal of 1/16 of an inch, a top reveal of 1/16 of an inch, and a bottom reveal of 1/16 of an inch.

10. The frameless cabinet system of claim 1, wherein the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) are composed of a single type of sheet material having a single thickness.

11. A frameless cabinet system providing efficiency to a consumer and a manufacturer by reducing the number of unique cabinet components required by a standard frameless cabinet system, wherein the frameless cabinet system comprises: (a) one or more base cabinets (100) each comprising: (i) a base left side panel (102); (ii) a base right side panel (104), wherein the base left side panel (102) and the base right side panel (104) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising an arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the base left side panel (102) and through an interior surface of the base right side panel (104), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (107) of the base side panel into which the hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; (iii) a base back panel (106), inset between the base right side panel (104), and the base left side panel (102); and (iv) a toe kick front panel (114) as part of an integrated toe kick (120) of each base cabinet; (b) one or more wall cabinets (200) each comprising: (i) a wall left side panel (202); (ii) a wall right side panel (204), wherein the wall left side panel (202) and the wall right side panel (204) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the wall left side panel (202) and through an interior surface of the wall right side panel (204), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (207) of the wall side panel into which the hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; and (iii) a wall back panel (206) inset between the wall right side panel (204), and the wall left side panel (202); (c) one or more tall top cabinets (300) each comprising: (i) a tall top left side panel (302); (ii) a tall top right side panel (304), wherein the tall top left side panel (302), and the tall top right side panel (304), are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the tall top left side panel (302) and through an interior surface of the tall top right side panel (304), wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (307) of the tall top side panel into which the hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; and (iii) a tall top back panel (306) inset between the tall top right side panel (304), and the tall top left side panel (302); wherein a depth of the one or more tall top cabinets (300) is equal to a depth of the one or more base cabinets (100); and (d) one or more tall bottom cabinets (400) each comprising: (i) a tall bottom left side panel (402); (ii) a tall bottom right side panel (404), wherein the tall bottom left side panel (402) and the tall bottom right side panel (404) are structurally mirror images, wherein two or three columns of holes, comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), are bored through an interior surface of the top bottom left side panel and through an interior surface of the top bottom right side panel, wherein one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (407) of the tall bottom side panel into which the hole is bored, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) is 31.75 millimeters; (iii) a tall bottom back panel (406) inset between the tall bottom right side panel (404) and the tall bottom left side panel (402); and (iv) a toe kick front panel (114) as part of the integrated toe kick (120); wherein a depth of the one or more tall bottom cabinets (400) is equal to the depth of the one or more base cabinets (100).

12. A method for reducing the number of unique cabinet components required when building a frameless cabinet system, wherein the method comprises: (a) fixing a height of a base cabinet (100) without an integrated base toe kick, a height of wall cabinet (200), a height of a tall top cabinet (300), a height of a tall bottom cabinet (400) without an integrated tall bottom toe kick, a height of a base corner cabinet without an integrated base corner toe kick, and a height of a wall corner cabinet, wherein each height is a multiple of 31.75 millimeters; (b) boring two or three columns of holes, each comprising an arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), through an interior surface of each right side panel and each left side panel comprising the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, and the wall corner cabinet, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, wherein a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes is 31.75 millimeters, wherein a first hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (107) of the side panel into which the first hole is bored,; (c) fixing a color of a front-facing edge banding of the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, and the wall corner cabinet to match an interior of each respective cabinet; (d) providing one or more universal stretchers replacing a top front stretcher, a top back stretcher, or a toe kick panel of the base cabinet (100), the tall bottom cabinet (400), or the base corner cabinet, wherein no drawer stretcher is employed in the frameless cabinet system; and (e) providing one or more universal shelves replacing an adjustable shelf, a non-adjustable shelf, a deck, a top, or a vertical divider of the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, or the wall corner cabinet, wherein use of the one or more universal stretchers to replace the top front stretcher, the top back stretcher, or the toe kick panel and use of the one or more universal shelves to replace the adjustable shelf, the non-adjustable shelf, the deck, the top, or the vertical divider effectively reduces the number of unique cabinet components required by the frameless cabinet system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) comprises two or more subsets of holes disposed in series, wherein each subset comprises a given number of holes, wherein an inter-subset distance is calculated in millimeters as: 32(0.25the given number of holes), wherein an effective inter-hole distance and an effective intra-set distance of the vertically aligned holes is 31.75 millimeters, and thus permits use of standard cabinet hardware, which is designed for holes spaced 32 millimeters apart.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more universal shelves are resized when functioning as an adjustable shelf, a non-adjustable shelf, a deck, a top, or a vertical divider.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said resizing comprises reducing a width, a depth, or a width and depth of the one or more universal shelves.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the tall top cabinet (300) and the tall bottom cabinet (400) combine to form a single tall cabinet, with or without an integrated toe kick, wherein a height of the single tall cabinet, excluding the toe kick, is a multiple of 31.75 millimeters.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the color of the front-facing edge banding of the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, and the wall corner cabinet has no relation to a color of an interior, a cabinet door, or a drawer front of a respective cabinet.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein a back panel of each of the base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) covers rear facing edges of respective left and right side panels.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the height of a back panel of each of the base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) includes that of the toe kick.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the inset back panel is composed of a thinner material than the rest of the cabinet box components, with or without vertical stretchers.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the integrated toe kick unit (120) is replaced by adjustable cabinet legs attached to base deck (108).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0019] FIGS. 1A-1E show cabinet component details for the present system.

[0020] FIGS. 2A-2C show heights predominating the present system.

[0021] FIGS. 3A-3B show an embodiment of the base cabinet of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 3C shows a side panel of the base cabinet with configuration measurements.

[0023] FIGS. 4A-4B show an embodiment of the wall cabinet of the present invention.

[0024] FIGS. 4C-4D show embodiments of a side panel of the wall cabinet with configuration measurements.

[0025] FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of the tall top cabinet of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 5B shows an embodiment of the tall bottom cabinet of the present invention.

[0027] FIGS. 5C-5D show embodiments of a side panel of the tall top cabinet with configuration measurements.

[0028] FIG. 5E shows a side panel of the tall bottom cabinet with configuration measurements.

[0029] FIG. 6 shows an illustration of vertical interchangeability.

[0030] FIG. 7 shows an illustration of horizontal interchangeability.

[0031] FIG. 8 shows an illustration of the typical reveal of the present system.

[0032] FIG. 9A shows cabinet components comprising the typical frameless cabinet system in North America.

[0033] FIG. 9B shows the cabinet components of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 10 shows the typical corner cabinets for a frameless cabinet system and the present system.

[0035] FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the frameless cabinet system of the present invention.

DEFINITIONS

[0036] As used herein, the term universal refers to the ability of a single part to be used as more than one cabinet component. Use of universal parts allows the reduction in the total number of unique cabinet components required by the cabinet system.

[0037] As used herein, the term overlay refers to the degree to which a cabinet door or drawer front covers the cabinet box. A full overlay refers to little or no visibility of the cabinet box when cabinet doors and drawers are in closed positions.

[0038] As used herein, the term deck refers to the bottom panel of a cabinet.

[0039] As used herein, the term stock keeping unit refers to a product component or set (e.g., a unique cabinet component such as a base right side panel, base left side panel, etc.) stored in inventory by a manufacturer.

[0040] As used herein, the term edge banding refers to a process of applying a narrow strip of material (e.g., edge tape) to front facing edges of a cabinet box component.

[0041] As used herein, the term inter-subset distance refers to the distance between two adjacent subsets. More specifically, in an arrangement of vertically aligned holes comprising a series of subsets of holes, the inter-subset distance is the distance from the center of the last hole in the previous subset to the center of the first hole in the next subset.

[0042] As used herein, the term intra-hole distance refers to the distance between the centers of two neighboring holes within a subset of holes.

[0043] As used herein, the term effective distance as in effective inter-subset distance or effective intra-hole distance refers to the distance value for use in calculations (i.e., in converting between Imperial and Metric units) as opposed to the measured, physical distance. The effective distance typically deviates from the measured (actual) distance by no more than 3 mm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0044] Following is a list of elements corresponding to a particular element referred to herein:

[0045] 100 base cabinet

[0046] 102 base left side panel/universal base side panel

[0047] 104 base right side panel/universal base side panel

[0048] 106 base back panel

[0049] 108 base deck/universal base shelf

[0050] 112 base shelf/universal base shelf

[0051] 114 toe kick front panel/universal stretcher

[0052] 116 arrangement of vertically aligned holes

[0053] 118 top stretchers/universal stretchers

[0054] 120 integrated toe kick

[0055] 122 construction holes for confirmat screws or wooden dowels

[0056] 200 wall cabinet

[0057] 202 wall left side panel/universal wall side panel

[0058] 204 wall right side panel/universal wall side panel

[0059] 206 wall back panel

[0060] 208 wall deck/universal wall shelf

[0061] 210 wall top/universal wall shelf

[0062] 212 adjustable wall shelf/non-adjustable wall shelf/universal shelf

[0063] 300 tall top cabinet

[0064] 302 tall top cabinet left side panel

[0065] 304 tall top cabinet right side panel

[0066] 306 tall top cabinet back panel

[0067] 308 tall top cabinet deck/universal base shelf

[0068] 310 tall top cabinet top panel/universal base shelf

[0069] 312 adjustable tall top shelf/non-adjustable tall top shelf//universal base shelf

[0070] 400 tall bottom cabinet

[0071] 402 tall bottom cabinet left side panel

[0072] 404 tall bottom cabinet right side panel

[0073] 406 tall bottom cabinet back panel

[0074] 408 tall bottom cabinet deck/universal base shelf

[0075] 410 tall bottom cabinet top panel/universal base shelf

[0076] 412 adjustable tall bottom shelf/non-adjustable tall bottom shelf/universal base shelf

[0077] Referring now to FIGS. 1A-11, the present invention features a 31.75 mm frameless cabinet system providing efficiency to a consumer and a manufacturer, without compromising quality and functionality. Efficiency is acquired by reducing the number of unique cabinet components required (as compared to currently available frameless cabinet systems) and by providing both ready-to-use (e.g., pre-cut and edge banded) and customizable cabinet components (e.g., components ready-to-cut according to desired specifications). The reduction in components is accomplished by utilizing a universal part for multiple cabinet components. In exemplary embodiments, universal stretchers and universal shelves are utilized to replace multiple components in a typical frameless cabinet (see FIGS. 9A-9B). In some embodiments, the frameless cabinet system comprises one or more base cabinets (100), one or more wall cabinets (200), one or more tall top cabinets (300), and one or more tall bottom cabinets (400).

[0078] In other embodiments, each base cabinet comprises: a base left side panel (102), a base right side panel (104), a base back panel (106) inset between the base right side panel (104) and the base left side panel (102), and a toe kick front panel (114) as part of an integrated toe kick (120) of each base cabinet. In further embodiments, the base left side panel (102) and the base right side panel (104) are structurally mirror images. Moreover, two or three columns of holes, each comprising an arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), may be bored through the interior surface of the base left side panel (102) and through the interior surface of the base right side panel (104). In an embodiment, holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns.

[0079] In exemplary embodiments, a center-to-center intra-hole distance of the arrangement of vertically aligned holes is 31.75 millimeters. Further, the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) comprises two or more subsets of holes disposed in series, where each subset comprises a given number of holes. An inter-subset distance may be calculated in millimeters as: 32(0.25the given number of holes). In other embodiments, an effective inter-hole distance and an effective intra-set distance of the vertically aligned holes is 31.75 millimeters, thus permitting use of standard cabinet hardware designed for holes spaced 32 millimeters apart. In preferred embodiments, one hole (117) of each column, e.g. the first hole or second hole, is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (107) of the side panel into which the hole is bored

[0080] In additional embodiments, each wall cabinet comprises: a wall left side panel (202), a wall right side panel (204), and a wall back panel (206) inset between the wall right side panel (204) and the wall left side panel (202). In some embodiments, the wall left side panel (202) and the wall right side panel (204) are structurally mirror images. Moreover, two or three columns holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), may be bored through the interior surface of the wall left side panel (202) and through the interior surface of the wall right side panel (204). In an embodiment, holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns.

[0081] In supplementary embodiments, each tall top cabinet comprises: a tall top left side panel (302), a tall top right side panel (304), and a tall top back panel (306) inset between the tall top right side panel (304) and the tall top left side panel (302). In further embodiments, the tall top left side panel (302) and the tall top right side panel (304) are structurally mirror images. Moreover, two or three columns of holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), may be bored through the interior surface of the tall top left side panel (302) and through the interior surface of the tall top right side panel (304). In an embodiment, holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns.

[0082] In some embodiments, the depth of the one or more tall top cabinets (300) is equal to the depth of the one or more base cabinets (100). In other embodiments, the height of the one or more tall top cabinets (300) and the height of the one or more wall cabinets (200) are equal.

[0083] In some embodiments, each tall bottom cabinet comprises: a tall bottom left side panel (402), a tall bottom right side panel (404), a tall bottom back panel (406) inset between the tall bottom right side panel (404) and the tall bottom left side panel (402), and an tall bottom toe kick panel (414) as part of the integrated toe kick (120) of each tall bottom cabinet. In further embodiments, the tall bottom left side panel (402) and the tall bottom right side panel (404) are structurally mirror images. Moreover, two or three columns holes, each comprising the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), may be bored through an interior surface of the tall bottom left side panel (402) and through an interior surface of the tall bottom right side panel (404). In an embodiment, holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns. In other embodiments, the depth of the one or more tall bottom cabinets (400) is equal to the depth of the one or more base cabinets (100).

[0084] In further embodiments, the frameless cabinet system comprises one or more base corner cabinets and one or more wall corner cabinets (FIG.10). In preferred embodiments, the one or more base corner cabinets is a base Lazy Susan cabinet, a base blind corner cabinet, or a base diagonal cabinet. Additionally, the one or more wall corner cabinets may be a wall Easy Reach cabinet, a wall blind corner cabinet, or a wall diagonal cabinet. A Lazy Susan cabinet is a base corner cabinet with bi-folding doors, a L shaped footprint, and a set of Lazy Susan (i.e., rotating shelves) inside. A blind corner cabinet is a single, straight cabinet that fits into one side of a kitchen corner with a blind side that connects to a cabinet from the other side. A diagonal cabinet is a single cabinet that fits in a corner of a kitchen, where the face of the cabinet is diagonal to the two walls meeting to form the corner. An easy reach cabinet is a wall corner cabinet with bi-folding doors, a L shaped footprint with L shaped shelves in side.

[0085] In one embodiment, the color of an edge banding of a cabinet, of the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), or tall bottom cabinets (400), matches a color of an interior of a respective cabinet. By matching the color to that of a cabinet interior, edge banding can be done beforehand while in pre-production without having to know a consumer's design specifications. This significantly reduces that amount of time needed to complete a custom cabinetry job. Furthermore, once a customer's design specification is received, the feature allows for cabinet doors and drawer front covers of endless styles and colors to be attached to the same cabinet box.

[0086] In another embodiment, the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400), employ a full overlay with a minimum reveal comprising: a side reveal of 1/16 of an inch, a top reveal of of an inch, and a bottom reveal of zero inches. In additional embodiments, the one or more base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) are composed of a single type of sheet material having a single thickness. This feature reduces the number of materials and parts needed to build the cabinet. Instead of using multiple sheet materials of varying thicknesses, such as 3/16 to , the present invention can use one sheet material with the same thickness (for example, ) to make the cabinets, thereby reducing production time and making the cabinets easy to modify.

[0087] The present invention also features a method providing efficiency to a consumer and a manufacturer by reducing a number of unique cabinet components required when building a frameless cabinet system. In some embodiments, the method comprises: [0088] fixing the height of a base cabinet (100) without an integrated base toe kick, the height of wall cabinet (200), the height of a tall top cabinet (300), the height of a tall bottom cabinet (400) without an integrated tall bottom toe kick, the height of a base corner cabinet without an integrated base corner toe kick, and the height of a wall corner cabinet, where each height is a multiple of 31.75 mm; [0089] boring two or three horizontally aligned columns, each comprising an arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116), through an interior surface of each right side panel and each left side panel comprising the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, and the wall corner cabinet, wherein holes comprising a given column are horizontally aligned with holes comprising a remaining column or columns, where a center-to-center intra-hole distance within the arrangement of vertically aligned holes is 31.75 mm, where one hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (107) of the side panel into which the hole is bored; [0090] fixing the color of a front-facing edge banding of the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, and the wall corner cabinet to match an interior of each respective cabinet; [0091] providing one or more universal stretchers replacing a top front stretcher, a top back stretcher, or a toe kick panel of the base cabinet (100), the tall bottom cabinet (400), or the base corner cabinet, where no drawer stretcher is employed in the frameless cabinet system; and [0092] providing one or more universal shelves replacing an adjustable shelf, a non-adjustable shelf, a deck, a top, or a vertical divider of the base cabinet (100), the wall cabinet (200), the tall top cabinet (300), the tall bottom cabinet (400), the base corner cabinet, or the wall corner cabinet; any of the one or more universal shelves may be resized (e.g., reducing the width and/or depth) according to a consumer's specifications.

[0093] Use of the one or more universal stretchers to replace the top front stretcher, the top back stretcher, or the toe kick panel and use of the one or more universal shelves to replace the adjustable shelf, the non-adjustable shelf, the deck, the top, or the vertical divider effectively reduces the number of unique cabinet components required by the frameless cabinet system.

[0094] In other embodiments, the arrangement of vertically aligned holes (116) comprises two or more subsets of holes disposed in series, where each subset comprises a given number of holes. Further, an inter-subset distance may be calculated in millimeters as: 32(0.25the given number of holes). An effective inter-hole distance and an effective intra-set distance of the vertically aligned holes is 31.75 mm, thus permitting use of standard cabinet hardware designed for holes spaced 32 mm apart.

[0095] In an alternative embodiment, the color of the front-facing edge banding of each cabinet component in the frameless cabinet system has no relation to a cabinet box interior, a cabinet door, or drawer front.

[0096] In additional embodiments, the tall top cabinet (300) and the tall bottom cabinet (400) combine to form a single tall cabinet, with or without an integrated toe kick. The height of the single tall cabinet, excluding the integrated toe kick, may be a multiple of 31.75 mm.

[0097] In supplementary embodiments, the back panel of each of the base (100), wall (200), tall top (300), and tall bottom cabinets (400) covers rear facing edges of respective left and right side panels. The inset back panel may be composed of a thinner material than the back panel, with or without use of vertical stretchers.

Design Specifications of the Present 31.75 mm Frameless Cabinet System

[0098] Embodiments disclosed herein provide an efficient 31.75 mm (1.25) system that combines ready-to-use and ready-to-cut cabinet components and fix-sized corner cabinets to quickly and accurately produce custom sized frameless kitchen cabinet boxes. The system can also be used to quickly and accurately generate custom door, drawer front, and drawer box sizes.

[0099] The 31.75 mm (1.25) system utilizes principles similar to the standard European 32 mm system. However, instead of vertically spacing the 5 mm diameter system holes exactly 32 mm apart, this new system vertically spaces said holes 31.75 mm apart center-to-center. Since 31.75 mm (Metric units) convert exactly to 1.25 inches (Imperial units), all existing 32 mm European hardware, machinery, and tools may be used to construct cabinets based on the 31.75 mm system with increased precision. All vertical measurements in inches will convert perfectly into increments of 31.75 mm. All existing 32 mm system hardware can be used in this 31.75 mm system since the center to center difference (0.25 mm) is well within the hardware tolerance.

[0100] There are at least two ways to produce 31.75 mm (1.25) system side panels. One way is to custom make a drill box of the CNC machine or have the line boring spindles with bits spaced exact 31.75 mm apart. Another way is to use the existing 32 mm system CNC machinery, line boring machine or jigs to achieve the 31.75 mm system effect by arranging groups of 32 mm system holes following certain arrangement patterns, so that the deviation of any boring position from the ideal is within the cabinet hardware's tolerance.

[0101] FIGS. 1A-1E show one application of the 31.75 mm (1.25) system in a typical kitchen cabinetry application where base, wall, and tall cabinets are included in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The embodiment presented in FIGS. 1A-1E comprises 24 components: twelve ready-to-use panel parts, six ready-to-cut panel parts, and six fixed-sized corner cabinets. The twelve ready-to-use parts are all bored with 5 mm diameter system holes (for hinge plates, drawer glides and shelf support pins), and with 8 mm diameter construction holes (for screws or wooden dowels), and are pre-edge banded with edge tape for front facing edges. The six ready-to-cut panel parts may include pre-bored (both horizontal and vertical) construction holes in the cabinet width direction. Horizontal or vertical boring of construction holes may be needed after straight cut-to-size is done based on the specifications of the custom cabinet width. The six fixed-sized corner cabinet units include all parts to construct corner cabinet boxes and may all be pre-bored and pre-edge banded as necessary.

[0102] The 24 cabinet components of the present system may use a single type of sheet board material (e.g., 48 material with wood grain). When using these 24 components as stock keep units, a full set of custom kitchen cabinet boxes can be quickly produced by using the ready-to-use universal side panels, as well as the cut-to-size universal shelves, universal stretchers and back panels. The present 31.75 mm system permits width increments as little as 1/32 and height increments of 1.25 (31.75 mm), thus covering a wide range of custom sizes (custom cabinet depths are typically fixed).

[0103] Essential aspects of the 31.75 mm system include the following: [0104] Frameless cabinet boxes (e.g., cabinet doors and drawers directly attached to cabinet box). [0105] Full overlay with minimum reveal of the cabinet box between doors or drawers. In this design, no drawer stretchers are needed and the edge banding of all front facing cabinet components may match the interior cabinet box material color instead of the cabinet doors. In this way, cabinet doors and/or drawers of any style and color may be attached to a standard cabinet box. Typical reveals for the present 31.75 mm system are: 1.5 mm ( 1/16) for the left and right side reveal and 3 mm () for the top reveal. The bottom has zero reveal as the attached cabinet door is flush with the bottom of the cabinet. 1.5 mm ( 1/16) reveal for all side, top and bottom reveals can also be utilized in the present 31.75 mm system. [0106] Tall bottom cabinet and tall top cabinet have the same depth as base cabinet. This minimizes the count of stock keep units. [0107] Tall top cabinet has heights that are equal to the heights of wall cabinet. This minimizes the count of stock keep units and maximizes the usage of same sized cabinet doors.

[0108] Although the present system permits cabinet heights in any increment of 31.75 mm (1.25), several system heights are predominant, (1) because they are whole numbers in inches and millimeters and (2) because they have many practical applications. FIGS. 2A-2C show predominant system heights and use in the kitchen cabinetry industry. Since each of the 24 cabinet components in the present system are either ready-to-use or ready-to-cut, custom cabinet makers are able to use factory floor down time to fabricate the cabinet components prior to receiving a specific custom order. Once the specific order for a custom cabinet job is received, only straight cuts and end boring of construction holes is necessary, thus greatly reducing the fabrication time. Moreover, utilizing the present system reduces the dependency of the cabinet design software tools.

[0109] All ready-to-cut components may be milled precisely and end bored according to each specific custom job. All corner cabinets and ready-to-use components may be cut for each custom job or pre-made to utilize manufacturing down time or to utilize extra material left over from previous jobs.

[0110] The present system is suitable for various sheet board materials, independent of the width, length, thickness, or grain direction of the sheet board. The sheet board size utilized herein is typical of the cabinetry and construction industry, namely, a 48 (or 1,2202,440 mm) board with thickness (19 mm or 18 mm), and with no grain or grain pattern running parallel to the longer side.

[0111] Back panels illustrated in FIGS. 3B-5B are full panel pieces with the same thickness as the other cabinet components. In some embodiments, the back panel may be less thick and be inset into the grooves on side panels. In other embodiments, a combination of top and bottom back stretchers is used with a thin back panel. In further embodiments, instead of having a full back panel inset between a left and right side panel, a full plant on back panel is used, which shortens the depth of the left and right side panel by the thickness of the plant on back panel.

[0112] FIG. 3A and FIG. 5B show an integrated toe kick section for the base cabinet and tall bottom cabinet. The toe kick section may take various heights and various recess depths. The toe kick panel is the visible portion of the toe kick section and reflects the height of the toe kick section. Adjustable legs attached to the deck of a cabinet box may replace the toe kick section.

[0113] The top of the base unit in FIGS. 3A-3B has two stretchers having the size and thickness of the toe kick panel. A variation of this design includes a full top having the same size as the deck and having identical construction holes end bored thereon. This variation does not change the stock keep unit count, but does require more panel materials.

[0114] In one embodiment of the present system, two standard heights of the wall cabinet are employed. In an alternate embodiment, one standard height of the wall cabinet components is used to further reduce the number of unique components comprising the wall cabinet. In this variation, there are a total of 14 ready-to-use and ready-to-cut stock keeping units and six fixed-sized corner cabinet box stock keeping units. More than two standard heights of the wall cabinets can be employed in alternate embodiments.

[0115] In other embodiments, right and left side panels may be cut down to a desirable height, as long as the remaining height is still a multiple of 31.75 mm (1.25) to allow for uniform hinge drills on cabinet doors. Side panels for a refrigerator cabinet (i.e., a tall cabinet mounted above refrigerator) and a bridge cabinet (i.e., a short wall cabinet above the microwave or sink) are cut to the desired dimensions.

[0116] Referring to FIGS. 3C, 4C-4D, and 5C-5E, one hole of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (407) of the side panel into which the first hole is bored. For instance, a first hole (117) of each column is positioned 47.625 mm away from a top edge (407) of the side panel into which the first hole is bored. This positioning of one of the holes of each column (e.g. the first hole) 47.625 mm away from a top edge of the side panel into which the first hole is bored is important because the columns of holes are consequently positioned in the side panel to allow for vertical interchangeability of the drawers and door. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the drawers and doors can be switched in any order vertically. Thus, the present invention provides the user with the ability to arrange a cabinet to his or her preference, while also being able to switch the arrangement at a later time without having to purchase new hardware or cabinets.

[0117] In one embodiment, all base cabinet side panels may also be cut down to a standard vanity depth. The first two columns of the vertical arrangement of holes bored into the base cabinet side panels accommodate the relatively shorter drawer glides for vanity drawers.

[0118] Consistent with previous embodiments, corner cabinets may be designed to include panels that are cut to a desired size. The side panels remain unchanged (i.e., having both the pre-bored columns of the vertical arrangement of holes and the end bored construction holes). However, all other panels of the corner cabinets are cut down to a desired size and end bored to achieve customized dimensions.

[0119] The end boring (both horizontal and vertical) of construction holes required in this system may be achieved using various 32 mm system end boring machines or jigs. The vertical arrangement of holes bored onto back panels may be done with a fixed center-to-center distance that is a multiplier of 32 mm. Horizontal end boring of the top, deck, and stretchers may be pre-done in the stock keeping units. A proper cutting position must be used when cutting these components to desired dimensions in order to maintain the pre-bore construction holes in the appropriate positions.

[0120] The outside widths of the wall Easy Reach cabinets and wall diagonal cabinets may be twice the width of the wall cabinets employed in the present system. However, the outside width may be any practical width greater than the wall cabinet width.

[0121] Consistent with previous embodiments, the present system may be designed to include more ready-to-use parts such as: vanity left and right side panels, vanity universal shelf, horizontal cabinet left and right side panels to further reduce the production time of other custom cabinet boxes.

[0122] Without wishing to be bound to a particular theory or mechanism, the present invention has the advantage of reducing the number of unique cabinet components required by a standard frameless cabinet system, which improves the efficiency of cabinet production without sacrificing any usage or features. The present invention has minimized the number of unique cabinet components for constructing a cabinet by doing the following: 1) Eliminating drawing stretchers without affecting structural integrity; 2) Providing a universal stretcher to replace a top front stretcher, top back stretcher, and toe kick panel; 3) Providing a universal shelf to replace an adjustable shelf, fixed shelf, deck, top and vertical divider, all universal shelves have the same width of the deck and top panels, providing a tighter fit than that of a typical cabinet, and even helping to square the cabinet box; 4) Setting Wall Height1=Base HeightToe Kick Height, so same full height doors is used on wall and base cabinets, and also share the same back panel; 6) Setting Tall top heights to be the same as wall heights (WH1 & WH2), so same doors can be used on wall and tall cabinets; and 4) Setting Tall cabinets to have the same depth of the base cabinets.

[0123] In one embodiment of the present invention, a base cabinet with one drawer and one door has the following unique cabinet components: 1) Door, 2) Drawer front, 3) Drawer box, 4) Side panel mirrored set, 5) Universal Shelf, 6) Back panel, 7) Universal Stretcher, and 8) hardware. In comparison, base cabinets in the prior arts have more unique cabinet components. For example, a prior art base cabinet would the following components: 1) Door, 2) Drawer front, 3) Face frame rails, 4) Face Frame stiles, 5) Drawer box, 6) Drawer stretcher, 7) Left side panel, 8) Right side panel, 9) Deck, 10) Adjustable Shelf, 11) Back panel, 12) Toe kick, 13) Top left stretcher, 14) Top right stretcher, and 15) Back vertical stretcher.

[0124] Without wishing to be bound to a particular theory or mechanism, the universal (mirrored) side panels of the present cabinet system can have 2 or 3 columns of system holes, all strategically placed. In one embodiment, the first column may be used for hinge plates, drawer glides and supporting shelf pins and the second column may be used for drawer glides and shelf pins. The optional third column may be used for drawer glides and shelf pins. Thus, the present invention can retro fit a wide selection of 32 mm cabinet hardware (drawer glides and hinges) with no specialized hardware needed. This makes the present invention easily adaptable to users.

[0125] In conclusion, the present invention maximizes production efficiency of the cabinet system by reducing the number of unique components, providing universal parts; and enabling interchangeability of the parts and cabinet configuration, all while maintaining structural integrity and without sacrificing functionality or quality of the cabinets. These inventive features allow for more than 80% of the labor-intensive work (universal side panels, all edge banded ready-to-cut pieces, etc.) to be done before receiving an actual custom cabinet order, thereby vastly shortening the fabrication time of cabinet boxes of a custom order.

[0126] As used herein, the term about refers to plus or minus 10% of the referenced number.

[0127] Various modifications of the invention, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. Each reference cited in the present application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0128] Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims. Reference numbers recited in the claims are exemplary and for ease of review by the patent office only, and are not limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the figures presented in this patent application are drawn to scale, including the angles, ratios of dimensions, etc. In some embodiments, the figures are representative only and the claims are not limited by the dimensions of the figures. In some embodiments, descriptions of the inventions described herein using the phrase comprising includes embodiments that could be described as consisting of, and as such the written description requirement for claiming one or more embodiments of the present invention using the phrase consisting of is met.

[0129] The reference numbers recited in the below claims are solely for ease of examination of this patent application, and are exemplary, and are not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims to the particular features having the corresponding reference numbers in the drawings.