FRONT PANEL FOR A FURNITURE BODY

Abstract

A front panel for a furniture body allows an end face of movable furniture parts provided with a handle rail, bar or strip to be gripped from behind. A chamber accommodates a lighting device and has a light exit opening. The one-piece front panel has a wall curved multiple times, a first end portion which supports the chamber, and a base connected to the other end of the wall. The base at least jointly forms a channel with a second end portion of the curved wall and a mounting plane. An item of furniture having a front panel is also provided.

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A one-piece front panel for a furniture body including movable furniture parts having an end face with a handle rail, permitting the end face to be gripped from behind, the one-piece front panel comprising: a chamber for accommodating a lighting device, said chamber having a light exit opening; a wall having multiple curvatures, two ends, a first end portion carrying said chamber at one of said ends, and a second end portion; and a bottom attached to another of said ends of said wall, said bottom at least jointly forming a channel with said second end portion and a mounting plane.

11. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein the furniture parts are doors or drawers.

12. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein said wall has a back, and at least one of locking or spacer elements protrude from said back and end at the mounting plane, for fixing the front panel to the furniture body.

13. The front panel according to claim 10, which further comprises at least one of locking or spacer elements closing said channel over said bottom.

14. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein said chamber has a top side, a vertically rising wall portion is attached to said top side, and said vertically rising wall portion has a right-angled bend ending in the mounting plane.

15. The front panel according to claim 14, wherein said chamber has a front wall forming a corner with said top side of said chamber, and said vertically rising wall portion is attached to said corner.

16. The front panel according to claim 15, wherein said top side of said chamber has an extension extending into the mounting plane.

17. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein said light exit opening of said chamber is oriented perpendicularly to said wall, and a bar formed of a transparent material and having a triangular cross section closes said light exit opening.

18. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein said chamber has mutually opposite walls with grooves formed therein, at least one of an LED strip or a bar formed of a transparent material with a triangular cross section closes said light exit opening, and at least one of said LED strip or said bar is held in said grooves.

19. The front panel according to claim 10, wherein said chamber has mutually opposite walls, at least one of an LED strip or a bar formed of a transparent material with a triangular cross section closes said light exit opening, and projections protrude from said mutually opposite walls and engage in grooves formed in at least one of said bar or said LED strip.

20. An item of furniture, comprising: a front panel according to claim 10; the handle rail being formed of a solid profile, said solid profile: having a handle recess, being inserted in a right-angled corner cut-out in the end face of the movable furniture part, having a projection fitting over the end face, and having an underside locking element engaging in the movable furniture part.

Description

[0021] The invention is explained in more detail using the drawings, in which only exemplary embodiments are shown. In the drawings:

[0022] FIG. 1: shows a diagram of the installation situation of a front panel according to the invention,

[0023] FIG. 2: shows an isometric diagram of the front panel, and

[0024] FIG. 3: shows an end view of the front panel.

[0025] The integrally formed front panel 1 shown in the drawings is recessed relative to a front 2 of a furniture body 3 far enough to enable a solid handle rail 5 with a handle recess 6 to be gripped from behind in order to operate a movable furniture part 4 such as a door, a drawer or the like.

[0026] The front panel 1 is suitable in particular as a horizontal intermediate profile between an upper and lower side of a furniture body.

[0027] The front panel 1 has a multiply curved wall 7, which forms a backbone, and bears a chamber 9, which remains visible in a front view of the furniture body 3, for accommodating lighting means 10 on a first end portion 8. The rear wall 11 of the chamber 9 is formed by the wall 7.

[0028] The walls of the chamber 9 are opaque and leave a light exit opening 12, which is closed by a bar 13 of triangular cross section consisting of a transparent material.

[0029] The light from the lighting means 10 thus falls exclusively through the transparent bar 12 onto the wall 7 and illuminates the interstice between the handle rail 6 and the wall 7. In one view, a light strip thus appears over the length of the front panel 1. A second end portion 14 prevents light falling into the furniture body 3 or illuminating the movable furniture part 4 from behind.

[0030] In the chamber 9, the bar 13 is held in a groove in the wall 11 or by a projection of the front wall 15 in a cut-out in the bar 13. The LED strip bearing the lighting means 10 at the end of the chamber 9 opposite the light exit opening 12 is also held in grooves.

[0031] To fix the front panel 1 on the furniture body 3, in this case L-shaped, possibly T-shaped locking and/or spacer elements 18, 19 protrude from the back 17 of the wall 7, which locking and/or spacer elements end in a common mounting plane 20 and can be inserted into corresponding grooves in a crosspiece of such a furniture body, possibly into a separately formed fastening plate.

[0032] In the front panel 1, a bottom 22 is attached to a second end portion 14 of the wall 7, which second end portion is profiled in an S shape. By means of the bottom 22, which is supported 6 against the mounting plane 20, the wall 7 and in particular the second end portion 14 are provided with sufficient stability. Furthermore, a channel 23 is formed by the bottom and the end portion 14 and in this case is closed against the mounting plane 20 by the spacer element 19.

[0033] The first end portion 8 of the wall 7 terminates with a top side 25 at the chamber 9 accommodating the lighting means 10. When the front panel 1 is installed horizontally, a vertically rising wall portion 27, which ends with a right-angled bend 28, adjoins the top side 25, in this case at the corner between the top side 25 and the front wall 15 of the chamber 9. The offset end of the bend 28 lies in the common mounting plane 20, like the other spacer elements 18, 19.

[0034] Such a vertically rising wall portion 27 is suitable for jointly forming the front of an item of furniture; cf. FIG. 1. In addition to this, a top channel 30 is formed by the wall portion 27, the bend 28 and an extension 29 of the top side 25 as well as the mounting plane 20.

[0035] The handle rail 6 shown in FIG. 1, consisting of a solid profile having the handle recess 5, is inserted into a right-angled corner cut-out, facing the furniture body 3, in an end face of the movable furniture part 4 and fits over the end face of the furniture part 5 by means of a projection 31. A locking element 32 protrudes from the underside of the handle rail 4 and engages in the furniture part 5, for example in the form of a spring that is profiled in a sawtooth shape and engages in an end-face groove in the furniture part 4 in a manner secured against being pulled out.