SNAP-ON FURNITURE SYSTEM

Abstract

A furniture panel joining system includes a joint piece for connecting a furniture panel. The joint piece has a base body having a male connector to be inserted into T-slot of a furniture panel. The joint piece has a top portion provided with at least one female connector. The female connector is configured for receiving a male member formed by a pin head of a couple item. The couple item is of benefit for attaching a furniture item which in particular includes a wired electronic unit in a quick manner without a need for a tool or glue to the furniture panel.

Claims

1. A furniture panel joining system for joining a furniture panel, wherein the furniture panel joining system comprises: a joint piece being configured to connect a furniture panel, wherein the joint piece comprises a base body having at least one end face provided with at least one male connector to connect the joint piece to the furniture panel; and a furniture panel being configured to receive said male connector of the joint piece, wherein the furniture panel joining system further comprises a couple item which has a male member to couple a furniture item to the joint piece, wherein the base body of the joint piece has a top portion provided with at least one female connector formed by an aperture for receiving said male member of said couple item, and wherein said male member is formed by a cylindrical pin shaped pin element having a pin head which is connectable to the female connector of the joint piece.

2. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the pin head is formed by a snap-on member to be snapped into the aperture of the female connector of the joint piece. 3 The furniture panel joining system according to claim 2, wherein the snap-on member has at least one snap finger for snapping the couple item to the female connector of the joint piece.

4. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the couple item has a foot portion which is connectable to a T-slot of a furniture item.

5. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the couple item has a threaded foot portion being screwable into a thread hole of a furniture item.

6. The furniture panel joining system for joining a furniture panel according to claim 1, wherein the at least one male connector for connecting the furniture panel is formed by an insert element including a head portion which forms an enlargement on top of a stem portion; and the furniture panel is provided with a T-slot for receiving said male connector of the joint piece.

7. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 6, wherein the foot portion of the couple item is sized in correspondence with the male connector of the joint piece to allow the furniture panel joining system to be manufactured by providing the same sized T-slots in both the furniture panel and in the furniture item.

8. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the couple item is integrally formed with the furniture item.

9. The furniture panel joining system for joining a furniture panel according to claim 1, wherein the at least one male connector for connecting the furniture panel is formed by an insert element including a threaded portion and the furniture panel is provided with a thread hole for receiving said threaded portion of the male connector of the joint piece.

10. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the base body has a single end face provided with the first and second male connector for interconnecting side by side positioned furniture panels.

11. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the base body has a first end face provided with the first male connector and a second end face provided with the second male connector, wherein the first and second end face are inclined to each other for interconnecting angled positioned furniture panels.

12. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the base body has a truncated shape, wherein in particular, a cross section of the base body is cross-shaped.

13. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the top portion of the base body includes a first and second female connector.

14. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 13, wherein the top portion of the base body includes a third and fourth female connector.

15. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the furniture panel has a T-slot formed by a keyhole slot being formed by an undercut recess having an entry hole being spaced apart from a panel edge of the furniture panel.

16. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the furniture item comprises an inner furniture panel.

17. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 16, wherein the inner furniture panel has a rectangular shape, wherein each corner is provided with a keyhole slot.

18. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 17, wherein each keyhole slot is diagonally directed.

19. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 18, wherein each keyhole slot has an entry hole for receiving a foot portion of the couple item, wherein the entry hole is positioned at an end of the keyhole slot away from a corner of the inner furniture panel.

20. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 1, wherein the furniture panel joining system forms a wall system including at least one side wall mountable by joining adjacently positioned furniture panels by the joint piece, wherein at least one furniture item is couplable to at least one of the joint pieces by the couple item.

21. The furniture panel joining system according to claim 20, wherein the furniture panel joining system is a cabin system.

22. A joint piece for establishing a quick connection of a furniture item, wherein the joint piece comprises a base body having at least one end face provided with at least one of a first and a second male connector, wherein the base body has a top portion provided with at least one female connector formed by an aperture for receiving a pin head which forms a male member of a couple item.

23. The joint piece according to claim 22, wherein the at least one male connector includes a head portion which forms an enlargement on top of a stem portion for an insertion into a T-slot of a furniture panel.

24. The joint piece according to claim 22, wherein the at least one male connector for connecting the furniture panel is formed by an insert element including a threaded portion and a complementary furniture panel is provided with a thread hole for receiving said threaded portion of the male connector of the joint piece.

25. A couple item for establishing a quick connection of a furniture item to a joint piece which joint piece has a base portion being configured to be connected to a furniture panel, wherein the couple item is formed by a cylindrical pin shaped pin element with a pin head forming a male member being connectable to a female connector of the joint piece.

26. A method for connecting a furniture panel and/or for connecting a furniture item thereto, which method comprises the steps of: providing a furniture panel joining system according to claim 1 including a joint piece and a first furniture panel; connecting the joint piece to the furniture panel by inserting a first male connector of the joint piece into an aperture of the furniture panel; providing a furniture item and at least one couple item for attaching the furniture item to the furniture panel; and inserting the at least one couple item into a female connector of the joint piece to connect the furniture item to the furniture panel.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the at least one couple item is a separate item, wherein in a step of the method, the couple item is attached to the furniture item.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the at least one couple item is attached by inserting and shifting a foot portion of the couple item into a T-slot or by screwing a threaded food portion of the couple item into a thread hole of the furniture item.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a furniture panel joining system according to the invention having two furniture panels being interconnected by a joint piece;

[0041] FIG. 2 shows a furniture item having a keyhole slot at a corner position being arranged for an attachment of a couple item to couple the furniture item to the joint piece of the furniture panel joining system as shown in FIG. 1;

[0042] FIG. 3 shows the joint piece and a complementary couple item in an exploded view in which the couple item has a pin head which can be snapped into a female connector of the joint piece;

[0043] FIG. 4 shows three couple items snapped into female connectors of the joint piece;

[0044] FIG. 5 shows a couple item formed by a pin element attached to the furniture item as shown in FIG. 2;

[0045] FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a joint piece of the furniture panel joining system being arranged for interconnecting right angled positioned furniture panels;

[0046] FIG. 7 shows a cabin system which is built by the furniture panel joining system;

[0047] FIG. 8 shows a double-walled system formed by the furniture panel system according to the invention;

[0048] FIGS. 9 and 10 show each an enlarged view of a corner section of the double-walled system having an inner wall connected to an outer wall formed by a first and second furniture panel;

[0049] FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the furniture panel joining system in which a joint piece and a couple item is screw mounted;

[0050] FIG. 12 shows a screw tool for mounting the joint piece to a furniture panel; and

[0051] FIG. 13 shows the same screw tool engageable to the couple item of the furniture panel joining system for mounting the couple item to a furniture item.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0052] In FIGS. 1-13, a furniture panel joining system according to the invention is denoted overall by reference numeral 100. Identical reference signs are used in the drawings to indicate identical or functionally similar components. To facilitate comprehension of the description and of the claims the words vertical, horizontal, longitudinal, cross-sectional and a coordinate system X, Y, Z shown in the drawingswith reference to a common placement of the furniture panel joining system forming a side wallare used in a non-limiting way.

[0053] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a furniture panel joining system 100 in an embodiment according to the invention. The furniture panel joining system 100 has a first furniture panel 101 which is connectable to a second furniture panel 102 by a joint piece 3.

[0054] The joint piece 3 is configured to join adjacent positioned furniture panels. The joint piece 3 has a base body 30. Here, the base body 30 has an end face 301 which is provided with a first and second male connector 31 for interconnecting the furniture panels 101, 102. Each male connector 31 is formed by an insert element 310 which has a stem portion 312 and a head portion 311. The head portion 311 forms an enlargement on top of the stem portion 312. Preferably, the insert element has an oblong shape.

[0055] As shown, here, the first and second furniture panels 101, 102 are abutting co-planarily against each other. The first and second furniture panels are positioned in a flush manner. Each furniture panel is provided with a T-slot 110. The T-slot extends along an edge of the furniture panel. Here, the T-slot is formed by a keyhole slot 111 which is positioned at a distance from a furniture panel edge. The keyhole slot is formed by an undercut recess and an entry hole. Here, the entry hole is elongated. The elongated entry hole provides an entrance for the male connector 31 of the joint piece 3. After receiving the male connectors 31 into the T-slots 110 and a sliding motion shifting the head portion 311 of the male connectors into the undercut recess, the first and second furniture panels 101, 102 are interconnected by the joint piece 3.

[0056] FIG. 2 shows a furniture item 5 which is connectable to a top portion 302 of the joint piece 3 by a couple item 4. The furniture item 5 includes an inner furniture panel 51. The inner furniture panel 51 may be a cover panel for covering an inner side of a wall built by interconnected furniture panels. The inner furniture panel 51 is joined by the joint piece to the interconnected first and second furniture panels 101, 102. The inner furniture panel 51 may form an attachment base of an electronic unit. The inner furniture panel 51 may for example hold an electronic component, like an actuator, dispenser or sensor.

[0057] The furniture item 5 has a rectangular shape. At each corner, the furniture item 5 is provided with a keyhole slot 511. Each keyhole slot 511 is diagonally oriented. Each keyhole slot 511 has an entry hole positioned away from the corner. Each keyhole slot 511 provides a position for fastening the couple item 4.

[0058] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the couple item 4 is formed by a pin element 40. The pin clement is cylindrical and pin shaped. The pin element 40 has a foot portion 41 which is configured to fit into the keyhole slot 511 of the furniture item 5. The foot portion is formed by a foot stem 410 and a foot base 411. Preferably, the foot portion 41 is equally sized as the male connector 31 of the joint piece 3, such that all T-slots of the furniture panel joining system 100 can be equally manufactured.

[0059] The pin element 40 has a pin head 42 which is couplable to a female connector 32 provided at the top portion 302 of the joint piece 3. The female connector 32 is formed by an aperture 320 which is here formed by a through hole. Here in FIG. 3, as also shown in FIG. 1, four female connectors are provided. The top portion 302 includes a first, second, third and fourth female connector 321, 322, 323, 324. The pin head is insertable into one of the female connectors by an insertion motion which is directed to the end face 301. The pin head 42 is provided with a snap-on member 420. Typically, the snap-on number 420 comprises at least one snap finger 421. The snap-on member 420 is configured to snap into a female connector 32 of the joint piece. By snapping the couple item 4 to the joint piece 3, a quick connection can be established in between the furniture item 5 and a furniture panel 101. It is an advantage that the joint being formed by the joint pieces 3 and couple items 4 may be completely invisible after making the connection which renders the furniture panel joining system according to the invention of particular value in making furniture which can be easily manually assembled without requiring a tool or glue and wherein the joints formed by the joint pieces are invisible.

[0060] As further shown in FIGS. 7-10, after the connection, an inner space is obtained in between the furniture item 5 and the furniture panels 101, 102. Preferably, the furniture item 5 has a closed inner furniture panel to close off the inner space. The base body 30 of the joint piece 3 spaces the inner furniture panel 51 at a distance from the furniture panel 101. A double-walled system can be formed by the furniture panel joining system 100. Beneficially, the inner space of the double-walled system may serve for guiding electric wires or as a space for ventilation. The double-walled system can be used for building a wall or cabin. The wall or cabin can be formed in a modular manner. Equally sized furniture panels 101, 102 can be used to build an outer wall, wherein a plurality of inner furniture panels 51 can be coupled to present joint pieces to build an inner wall.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 4, in an embodiment, the joint piece 3 has a base body 30 having an end face 301 which is provided with only a single male connector 31 to attach the joint piece 3 to a furniture panel 101. Here, the joint piece 3 is suitable to join an inner furniture panel 51 to the furniture panel 101. The inner furniture panel 51 extends in parallel with the furniture panel 101.

[0062] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a corner joint 7. Here, the corner joint 7 is an angle joint piece for interconnecting angled positioned furniture panels. The corner joint 7 has a male connector 71 at a corner joint end face 701 of a corner joint body 70. This corner joint 7 is suitable for interconnecting a first outer side wall to a second outer side wall being positioned in perpendicular to each other for forming a cabin. Preferably, the corner joint 7 is formed as a joint piece 3 having a base body 30 with a rectangular shape in cross section, wherein an end face opposite the corner joint end face 71 provided with at least one male connector is provided with at least one female connector 32 for coupling a couple item 4.

[0063] FIG. 7 shows a cabin 6, in particular a sauna cabin, being built by a double-walled system. FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the double-walled system including the furniture panel joining system 100.

[0064] As further shown in detail in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cabin 6 has an outer wall 60 formed by interconnected furniture panels 101, 102 and an inner wall 61 formed by furniture panels 51. An inner space 62 is situated in between the inner and outer wall 60, 61. The inner space 62 is suitable for housing an electronic unit 52, like a sensor, a lamp, an actuator, a dispenser or a speaker. The inner space 62 is suitable for guiding an electric wire of an electronic unit 52 to a control unit. Here, at each corner of the cabin 6, a simple configured corner joint 7 is provided for interconnecting furniture panels.

[0065] The inner wall 61 being formed by furniture panels 51 is coupled to the outer wall 60 by joint pieces 3, 3. The joint pieces 3as shown in FIG. 4only have a single male connector 31 and are attached to a furniture panel of the outer wall 60. The joint pieces 3as shown in FIG. 3include a first and second male connector 31 and are configured to interconnect adjacently positioned furniture panels 101, 102.

[0066] FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the joint piece 3 and couple item 4. The joint piece 3 is arranged to join furniture panels. At a bottom portion, the joint piece has a base body with an end face 301. The end face is formed by a base plate of the base body. The base plate is spaced from a top portion 302 of the joint piece 3. Here, the top portion 302 has the same configuration as shown in FIG. 1 in which the top portion 302 is provided with at least one female connector 32 for receiving a pin head of a couple item 4. The base plate is provided with at least one through hole, here four through holes, for mounting the joint piece to a furniture panel by at least one male connector 31.

[0067] Here, the male connector 31 is a separate item. As shown in FIG. 12, the male connector 31 is a screw type item which can be fastened by a screw tool 9. The male connector 31 has a tool portion 33 to be engaged by the screw tool 9. At an opposite end, the male connector 31 has a threaded portion to be inserted into a thread hole of a furniture panel to fasten the joint piece 3 to the furniture panel.

[0068] As further shown in FIG. 13, the couple item 4 is formed by a pin element 40. The couple item 4 has a threaded foot portion 41 for fastening the couple item 4 to a furniture item. The threaded foot portion 41 fits into a thread hole of the furniture item. Herewith, the couple item 4 can be screw mounted to the furniture item. The couple item 4 has a pin head 42 provided with at least one snap-on member 424 snapping the couple item 4 to the joint piece 3. The pin head 42 has a same configuration and functionality as the above disclosed pin head 42 of the couple item 4 as shown in FIG. 3-5.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 13, a same screw tool 9 can be used to mount both the male connector 31 and the couple item 4. A same shaped tool portion 33, 43 of respectively the male connector 31 and the couple item 4 allow to use a screw tool 9 with a same shaped tool head 93.

[0070] Although the present invention has been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. It is intended that all such changes and modifications be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure and claims.

[0071] Further, it is remarked that any feature of the system according to the invention which is described in the embodiments and/or mentioned in the dependent claims is in itself considered patentable without any dependency to another presented feature. In particular, any measure presented in a dependent claim is also considered patentable without dependency of the independent claim.

[0072] Thus, the invention provides a furniture panel joining system comprising a joint piece for connecting a furniture panel. The joint piece has a base body having a male connector to be inserted into T-slot of a furniture panel. The joint piece has a top portion provided with at least one female connector. The female connector is configured for receiving a male member formed by a pin head of a couple item. This couple item is of benefit for attaching a furniture item which in particular includes a wired electronic unit in a quick manner without a need for a tool or glue to the furniture panel.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0073] 100 furniture panel joining system [0074] 101 first furniture panel [0075] 102 second furniture panel [0076] 110 T-slot [0077] 111 keyhole slot [0078] 3 joint piece [0079] 30 base body [0080] 301 end face [0081] 302 top portion [0082] 31 male connector [0083] 310 insert element [0084] 311 head portion [0085] 312 stem portion [0086] 32 female connector [0087] 320 aperture [0088] 321 first female connector [0089] 322 second female connector [0090] 323 third female connector [0091] 324 fourth female connector [0092] 4 couple item [0093] 40 pin element [0094] 41 foot portion [0095] 410 foot stem [0096] 411 foot base [0097] 42 male member, pin head [0098] 420 snap-on member [0099] 421 snap finger [0100] 5 furniture item [0101] 51 inner furniture panel [0102] 511 keyhole slot [0103] 52 electronic unit [0104] 521 actuator [0105] 522 sensor [0106] 523 speaker [0107] 6 cabin system [0108] 60 wall; outer wall [0109] 61 inner wall [0110] 62 inner space [0111] 7 corner joint [0112] 70 corner joint body [0113] 701 corner joint body end face [0114] 71 male connector