Drawer, drawer construction and method for manufacturing a drawer
10293512 ยท 2019-05-21
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
A47B88/00
HUMAN NECESSITIES
F16B12/46
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
A47B88/941
HUMAN NECESSITIES
F16B12/125
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
B27F1/08
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B27F1/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B27M3/0066
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
A47B2230/0096
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
B27F1/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B27M3/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
F16B12/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
B27F1/08
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
A method for manufacturing drawers in which the drawers comprise walls, and a bottom. At least first and second walls comprise a tongue and a groove with locking parts. The respective groove is provided on the interior side of the first wall, whereas the respective tongue is provided on the distal end of the second wall. The first and second walls are manufactured of respectively one board.
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing drawers, wherein the drawers comprise walls and a bottom, wherein said walls comprise at least a front wall, rear wall and two sidewalls, the method comprising: forming first walls from a plurality of boards; and forming second walls from said plurality of boards, wherein, one of said first walls and one of said second walls are both formed from a single one of said plurality of boards; wherein said boards have a length direction and a width direction and wherein the one of said first wall and the one of said second wall are formed from said single one of said plurality of boards by portions of said board located at different positions along the length direction; wherein each of said first walls is formed to comprise a first cooperating profile extending in said width direction, and each of said second walls is formed to comprise a second cooperating profile extending in said width direction, the first cooperating profile of each of said first walls and the second cooperating profile of each of said second walls being formed such that the first cooperating profile of a corresponding one of said first walls extends in a direction parallel to a direction in which the cooperating second profile of a corresponding one of said second walls extends, wherein the first and second cooperating profiles include a tongue and a groove with locking parts, the tongue being formed to fit into the groove in a locking manner, wherein the first and second cooperating profiles are formed to be joined laterally into each other by a movement of the cooperating first profile of the corresponding one of said first walls and the second profile of the corresponding one of said second walls towards each other in a direction that extends in a plane that is perpendicular to the directions in which the cooperating first and second profiles extend; and wherein the respective groove is provided on a plane configured to become an interior side of the corresponding one of said first walls and the respective tongue is provided on the distal end of the corresponding one of said second walls, wherein, for each board of said plurality of boards, the respective groove and the respective tongue are formed by means of a continuous pass-through treatment performed on said plurality of boards, said treatment including a single treatment or a one or more partial treatments with said plurality of boards passing through in a direction transverse to said length direction; and wherein, for each board of said plurality of boards, only after forming at least a portion of said groove and at least a portion of said tongue on said board, said board is subdivided into two or more completely separated walls, said completely separated walls including said one of said first walls and said one of said second walls, wherein the subdividing takes place in the direction transverse to said length direction.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said treatment is a pass-through treatment.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said tongue is formed on a distal end of said board.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said groove is formed in a flat planar side of said board.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least three walls are obtained from said board including two sidewalls, and a front wall or a rear wall.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein all locking profiles of the respective walls are formed at least partially or even entirely prior to subdividing said board into the respective walls.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) With the intention of better showing the characteristic according to the invention, hereinafter, as an example without any limitative character, some preferred embodiments are described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
(21) In
(22) In accordance with the first aspect of the invention, the rear wall 3 is connected to the sidewalls 4-5 by means of mutually cooperating locking profiles 7-8, whereas the front wall 2 is connected to the sidewalls 4-5 by means of connection means 9 other than locking profiles.
(23) In the represented example, the locking profiles 7-8 respectively consist of a tongue 10 and a groove 11, which are provided with respective locking parts 12-13, which, in the final position, prevent or at least counteract that the tongue 10 comes out of the groove 11. In the represented example, the tongue 10 is split. Applying a gap 14 in the tongue 10 is useful in particular when it is required that the tongue 10 can be pushed into the groove 11 by means of a snap movement, as this promotes the elasticity of the tongue. According to a not-represented variant, use can also be made of solid tongues, thus, without the represented gap.
(24) The profiles 7-8 of the represented example allow joining together the sidewalls 4-5 and the rear wall by means of an angling movement as well as a snap movement.
(25) In the represented example, the connection means 9 between the front wall 2 and the sidewalls 4-5 consist of separate connection elements 15, which cooperate with openings 16-17, more particularly bore holes, which are provided in the rear side 18 of the front wall 2 and the narrow ends 19 of the side walls 4-5. In the example, these connection elements 15 are formed by dowels, more particularly mechanically locking dowels. In
(26) As explained in the introduction, other connection means can be applied as well.
(27) As becomes clear from the figures, the drawer 1 can be designed such that the only locking profiles which are present there are the ones required for the connection between the rear wall 3 and the sidewalls 4-5, whereas for the remaining connections, exclusively use is made of bore holes or other treatments which can be performed in a bore line, in which then separate attachment elements can be provided, all this possibly supplemented by simpler profiles, such as grooves 21 for providing the bottom.
(28) Also, the following characteristics can be seen in the figures: The locking profiles are laterally insertable, such by means of an angling and/or snap movement; the front wall consists of only one wall part, which thus also forms the front part of the drawer; the front wall is made as a front panel, which, with its rear side, is turned towards the narrow front ends of the sidewalls; the rear wall is situated between the sidewalls; the sidewalls are provided with openings and/or recesses 22 for attaching fittings, more particularly for attaching thereto parts of a fitting mechanism for retractably supporting the drawer.
(29) In
(30) In
(31) This results in the advantages mentioned in the introduction.
(32) The two sidewalls 4-5 preferably are the ones which are intended to form part of one and the same drawer 1.
(33) Further, for realizing connections with the front wall, openings 17, such as bore holes, can be provided in the board 23 before the latter is sawed.
(34) Obviously, the method is particularly suitable for realizing drawers according to the first aspect.
(35)
(36) The particularity herein consists in that the groove profile 25 is realized by one or more cuts by means of one or more rotating cutting tools which engage in the surface from the exterior, wherein the cutting tool and the respective panel-shaped element, in mutual respect, perform a pass-through movement in the longitudinal direction of the cut, as well as is locally moved in and/or out of the surface of the panel-shaped element in order to form said end.
(37) The cuts preferably are realized by means of saws or saw cutters.
(38)
(39) In
(40) The guiding mechanism 32 is represented only schematically in the form of fitting parts, namely first fitting parts 31, which are attached to the drawer, and second fitting parts 33, which are fixedly attached to a piece of furniture. The portion present in between these can be of any kind and, for reasons of schematization, is omitted from the figure. By way of example, the portion present in between may consist of a telescopic system, a ball-bearing running system, and so on.
(41) The fitting parts 31 can be attached to the drawer, in particular to the sidewalls 4-5, in any manner, either by means of screws or in another manner. In the example, these fitting parts are situated laterally against the sidewalls 4-5; however, it is clear that, according to a variant not represented here, they can also be mounted, for example, underneath the sides 4-5.
(42) The attachment between the front wall 2 and the fitting parts 31 can also be realized in any manner. In the represented example, to this aim the first fitting part 31 is provided with forward-directed protruding portions 35, onto which the front wall, more particularly the front panel, can be attached in that the portions 35 cooperate with openings 16, for example, via clamps, glue, etc.
(43) In the example, the sidewalls 4-5 are connected to the rear wall 3 by means of film hinges 36. However, other kinds of connections are not excluded here. According to a not represented embodiment, instead of film hinges use shall be made of coupling means which are formed by mutually engaging profiles, for example, such as in
(44) In
(45) In the example, the rear wall 3 is situated between the sidewalls, and the rear wall 3 is connected to the sidewalls by means of coupling means which allow attaching the sidewalls laterally onto the distal ends of the rear wall, in this case by means of dowels 39.
(46) The fitting parts 31 are attached to the sidewalls 4-5 and movably supported in respect to the fitting parts 33 which are intended for being fixedly attached to a piece of furniture.
(47) As the fitting parts 31 usually are positively supported laterally by the fixed fitting parts 33, it is obtained that, as soon as everything is assembled, at least a certain lateral support is given to the sidewalls 4-5, which prevents that the sidewalls 4-5 can move apart at the rearmost ends if the connection means 37 should not function as intended.
(48) It is noted that the fitting parts 31 do not necessarily have to be situated laterally against the sidewalls 4-5, but can also be mounted underneath the sidewalls.
(49) According to a variant, a guiding mechanism 38A is applied, with fitting parts 31-33 situated underneath the drawer, and wherein, for example, the fitting parts 33 are fixedly attached to the front wall 2 and the rear wall 3. In this manner, also an internal reinforcement is created in the drawer, which, in combination with the particular assembly, results in a drawer which can be assembled in a smooth manner and still clearly is stable.
(50)
(51)
(52) It is noted that the aforementioned
(53) In
(54)
(55)
(56) It is clear that with such milling cutter it is also possible to enter on the one side and exit on the other. Possibly, this movement B2 can extend over two walls which still are connected as a single panel, wherein this panel afterwards will be cut in two.
(57)
(58) The advantage of entering eccentrically or performing the ingoing movement B1 with the center of the milling cutter at a distance D from the centerline 52 of the groove profile 25 is that a higher-quality cut can be obtained. In particular, the quality of the cut portion 55 in the proximity of the point 56 is increased, where the ingoing movement B1 or the exiting movement of the milling cutter 51 is performed. In general, the improved cut portion 55 preferably is situated at the edge of the groove profile 25 with which the locking part 12 of the tongue 10 cooperates, and/or on the interior side of the composed element or the drawer 1. Improving the quality of the cut is of particular interest for cutting in laminated panels, such as in panels which are provided with a decorative layer of, for example, laminate, lacquer, melamine, PVC foil, veneer and the like. Improving the quality of the cut is also of interest for milling in panels consisting substantially of particle board, such as wood particle board.
(59) Another advantage of entering eccentrically is that a connection can be obtained over a larger part of the groove profile. In fact, the cut portion 55 now can also provide for an undercut with which the locking part 12 of the tongue 10 can cooperate.
(60)
(61)
(62) It is clear that the technique of entering eccentrically can also be applied with groove profiles which are made finite on only one side of this profile, and wherein the other side of the groove profile coincides with a side of the element to be milled, or wherein the groove profile, in other words, is open at this side, similar to the alternative on
(63) Preferably, the eccentric entering is applied in combination with a method having the characteristics of the tenth aspect. According to a variant, it is not necessary that the basic panel is transported along a processing station by means of a pass-through system. Such eccentric entering can be performed by means of any device with at least one milling cutter.
(64) Generally, the technique of entering eccentrically can be applied for realizing groove profiles 25, which are finite on one side or on two sides, in panel elements. These panel elements do not necessarily have to form the walls of a drawer 1, however, may also form part of a composed element, such as a cupboard, desk, table or the like.
(65)
(66) Preferably, a first reference surface 58 of said reference surfaces 58-59 is formed internally in the groove profile 25. Preferably, a second reference surface 59 of said reference surfaces 58-59 is formed on the surface of the wall 2 with the groove profile 52. Such arrangement of the reference surfaces is illustrated by means of
(67) Said flexible element 57 can be manufactured, for example, of one or more synthetic materials, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and the like, for example, by means of an extrusion, coextrusion or injection molding technique.
(68) Here, the flexible element is provided with a lip 61 which is rotatable around a hinge 61, said lip cooperating with the groove profile 25 for obtaining said pressing on. Of course, other mechanisms are not excluded. Preferably, a snap effect is applied, such as here, wherein during the coupling of the walls 2-4 a to-and-fro movement of the flexible element 57 or a part thereof is obtained. Use can also be made of elastic compression, followed by relaxation of a flexible material.
(69) According to a variant, instead of a flexible element 57 also an element, whether or not rigid, can be used, which, for example like a wedge, is driven into an opening between the tongue and the groove, whether or not automatic, in order to obtain said pressing-on against the reference surfaces 58-59.
(70)
(71) Although the flexible element 57 or flexible material here is illustrated at the tongue 10, it is also possible that it is situated in the groove 11.
(72)
(73)
(74) As
(75) For forming the tongue 10, use is made of a pass-through milling machine 70, wherein the larger panel or the board 23 is moved with its short edges over at least two and in this case three milling tools 68. It is known as such, for example, from WO 97/47834, to form locking profiles at the edge of a panel by means of at least two rotating milling tools. To this aim, preferably two rotating milling tools are applied, which are arranged at a different angle in respect to the panel.
(76) For forming the groove 11 or the groove profile 25, the device 64 of
(77)
(78)
(79)
(80) The embodiment represented in
(81) It is clear that the method as represented in
(82) As aforementioned, it is clear that the invention is intended in particular for wood-based drawers.
(83) The present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described by way of example and represented in the figures; on the contrary, such drawers and methods for manufacturing drawers can be realized according to various variants without leaving the scope of the invention.