Worktop particularly for a kitchen

Abstract

 A panel (1), particularly usable for manufacturing kitchen units, comprising a flat body (2) with which one or more metallic profiled elements (3) are associated or associable perimetrically. The profiled elements (3) comprise first connection means and second means for providing a seal against liquids for the panel.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a panel particularly usable in the field of kitchen units, such as for example kitchen worktops, table tops, doors and exposed sides of unit carcasses, commonly known as trim sides.

[0002] Table tops and doors made for example entirely of plastics or wood coated with a waterproofing coating are currently commonly used in the field of kitchen units.

[0003] It is also known to use panels formed by a flat body made of plywood or particlewood, entirely covered by a lamination made of plastics, or by a veneer of wood, conveniently glued onto the respective faces of the flat body.

[0004] It is also known to apply a border to a panel, made for example of plastics, by hot-melt gluing a strip of plastic material covered externally with a metallic leaf.

[0005] All these known types of panel have various drawbacks, due mainly to the fact that the materials used often do not have aesthetic or technical characteristics suitable for their use.

[0006] In particular, the panels made of wood and/or plastics described above are subject to damage, which can occur due to exposure to high temperatures, to accidental impact with foreign objects, or to water infiltrations.

[0007] Kitchen units in fact have to be located proximate to heat sources, such as burners, an electric or gas-fired oven, and any other heating devices, and often also act as containers or bases for said heating devices.

[0008] Likewise, kitchen units accommodate, or are usually arranged adjacent to, at least one sink or even a dishwasher, and can also act as supporting bases for pots or kitchen containers, and for these reasons they are often in contact with water or other liquids.

[0009] The main drawback of these known types of panel is therefore the fact that they often have a limited durability or are in any case subject to wear and to gradual damage.

[0010] The panels that are most intensely subjected to this wear are therefore those that lie closest to sources of heat or water since, depending on the type of panel used, the plastics lamina can peel slightly at the joint between the border and the worktop, or a small portion of coating might be removed, leading to loss of the waterproofing characteristic.

[0011] The subsequent easier infiltration of water leads to a worsening of the initial damage, with consequent swelling of said panel if it is for example entirely made of wood.

[0012] Although they sometimes maintain their functionality, these known types of panel, once damaged, have the drawback that in any case their aesthetic impact is substantially compromised and in any case is not pleasant.

[0013] This leads to the severe drawback of not only compromising the overall pleasantness of the kitchen but also of producing in the user the perception of low quality of said kitchen.

[0014] In the field of office units, moreover, it is known to use doors made of wood or plastics which have, on one or more sides, covering borders made for example of rubber which affect the entire height of the edge.

[0015] The use of these known types of door in the field of kitchen units, however, is difficult, since the mechanical and thermal stresses described above, which are frequent in the use of said kitchen, can easily entail damage to said rubber borders.

[0016] As a partial remedy to the drawbacks described above, it is known to provide panels constituted by a square or rectangular frame or carcass made of metallic material such as aluminum.

[0017] Such frame or border is possibly provided with one or more horizontal cross-members that are suitable to divide the delimited internal region into two or more rectangular or square areas that can be closed conveniently by positioning and fixing complementarily shaped flat bodies made for example of wood or plastics.

[0018] The main drawback of this known type of panel is that the production of the components and most of all their mutual assembly are very onerous from the economical standpoint, since they require the use of expensive materials and the use of labor for a considerable period of time.

[0019] The production cost of the frame, moreover, is particularly onerous, in view of the fact that it must have a transverse cross-section and a thickness that ensure rigidity and support to the entire panel.

[0020] The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-noted problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art, by providing a panel, particularly for kitchen units, that is economical to manufacture and to assemble and at the same time is highly durable both aesthetically and functionally.

[0021] Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a panel that can be assembled even automatically, by using suitable machines, with a further reduction of production costs and a potential increase in production.

[0022] Another important object is to provide a panel that allows to minimize both water infiltrations and damage due to heat.

[0023] Another object is to provide a panel that ensures optimum mechanical strength particularly at the most intensely stressed regions and therefore at the edges.

[0024] Another object is to provide a panel that is structurally simple and has an aesthetic impact that is particularly pleasant, innovative and durable.

[0025] This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a panel, particularly for kitchen units, characterized in that it is constituted by a flat body with which one or more metallic profiled elements are associated or associable perimetrically, said profiled elements comprising first means for connection to said panel and second means for sealing said panel against liquids.

[0026] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a particular embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the panel according to the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a plan view and a side view of the panel according to the invention;

Figures 4 and 5 are views of two details of Figures 2 and 3;

Figures 6 to 8 are side views of three successive steps of the connection of a profiled element to the flat body;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a detail of the flat body with a profiled element associated therewith and a profiled element to be associated therewith.

[0027] With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 designates a panel that can be used to produce units, particularly kitchen units and components for kitchen units, such as, for example, kitchen worktops, table tops, doors and/or exposed sides of carcasses of units, i.e., so-called trim sides.

[0028] The panel 1 is constituted by a flat body 2, which is polygonal, for example square or rectangular, and laterally to which respective metallic profiled elements, designated by the reference numeral 3, are associable at one or more lateral edges 2a.

[0029] In particular, in the embodiment shown in the figures, the panel 1 comprises four metallic profiled elements 3, which have an approximately F-shaped transverse cross-section so as to form a base, designated by the reference numeral 4 in Figure 6, which is flat and arranged vertically and from which a first lower wing and a second upper wing, designated by the reference numerals 5a and 5b respectively, protrude.

[0030] The first and second wings 5a and 5b protrude at right angles from the base 4 respectively at the central region 4a and at the upper end 4b of the base 4, so as to affect preferably the entire length of the base.

[0031] The first and second wings 5a and 5b of each profiled element 3 constitute means for providing a connection and a seal against liquids between the profiled element 3 and one of the edges 2a of the flat body 2.

[0032] In particular, the first lower wing 5a constitutes a means for connection in a first seat 6a formed longitudinally along the entire length of the edge 2a of the flat body 2.

[0033] The first seat 6a has a height that is approximately equal to, or slightly smaller than, the thickness of the first wing 5a, and is obtained along a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the edge 2a.

[0034] In the particular embodiment described herein, the first wing 5a has a shape that is provided, in an upper region and in a lower region, with teeth, generally designated by the reference numeral 7, which are advantageously triangular, with the free vertex directed toward the base 4 so as to facilitate interference coupling with the first seat 6a.

[0035] In this manner, the teeth 7 constitute means suitable to facilitate the locking, optionally with the interposition of glue or adhesive material, of the profiled element 3 at the edge 2a, avoiding its accidental extraction.

[0036] Likewise, the second upper ring 5b acts as a means for sealing the panel 1 against liquids, since it is associable, simultaneously with the first wing 5a, within a second seat 6b formed above the first seat 6a, at a distance from said first seat that is approximately equal to the distance between the first wing 5a and the second wing 5b.

[0037] The second seat 6b, which is approximately as high as the second wing 5b is thick, is also formed along the entire length of the edge 2a and on a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the edge 2a.

[0038] In the panel 1 described here, the second seat 6b is formed at a recess, designated by the reference numeral 8, that is formed perimetrically along the four edges 2a of the flat body 2, so that a portion of the second wing 5b, designated by the reference numeral 9 in Figure 8, remains visible from outside once the profiled element 3 has been associated with the edge 2a.

[0039] The first and second seats 6a and 6b are respectively longer than the first and second wings 5a and 5b, so as to ensure that once the connection of the profile 3 to the flat body 2 has been completed, respective cavities remain which are designated by the reference numerals 10a and 10b and suitable to accumulate any excess adhesive material.

[0040] The cavities 10a and 10b also ensure optimum interconnection even if one works with medium and high machining tolerances, as indeed is the case in woodworking.

[0041] The second wing 5b can have advantageously one or more grooves 11, advantageously longitudinal ones, which are suitable in particular to facilitate the positioning of excess adhesive material.

[0042] Figures 6 to 8 illustrate a detail of the panel 1, in which the flat body 2 is constituted by a core 12, made for example of wood or plastics, on the outside of which a cladding, designated by the reference numeral 13 and made of a suitably waterproof material, has been applied externally.

[0043] The cladding 13, made for example of plastic material such as a polymeric or melamine-based material, is advantageously deposited not only on its front surface but also laterally, at at least part of the edges 2a.

[0044] In particular, Figure 6 shows how a cladding strip, designated by the reference numeral 13a, is arranged in front of the second seats 6b, temporarily closing them.

[0045] The connection of the profiled element 3 to the edge 2a then entails the piercing, on the part of the second wing 5b, which is conveniently pointed, of the strip 13a and its adhesion to the walls of the second seat 6b.

[0046] In particular, in order to facilitate the impermeableness of the panel 1 at the edges 2a, the second wing 5b has a pointed shape in which the vertex is approximately orientated downward, so as to lie approximately on the same plane of arrangement as the pair of grooves 11.

[0047] In this manner, the strip 13a separates along its lower side and folds upward, as shown in Figure 7, approximately along the profile of the second wing 5b, and thus is arranged, once the connection has been completed (Figure 8), in an approximately horizontal position, laterally adjacent to the exposed portion 9 of the second wing 5b.

[0048] In the interconnection by pressing of the second wing 5b in the second seat 6b, the interposition of the strip 13a between the second wing 5b and the core 12, optionally made of non-impermeable material, prevents an infiltration of water from reaching the core 12: the infiltration in fact is unable to pass the impermeable barrier obtained along the region of contact between the strip 13a and the second wing 5b, which runs along the entire width of the strip 13a.

[0049] As an alternative, the flat body 2 can be constituted by a core 12 that is treated externally for example by means of a coating or lacquering operation so as to achieve the deposition of an impermeable coating substance.

[0050] The deposition of said substance inside the second seat 6b, and optionally also inside the first seat 6a, allows to provide an interconnection between the profiled element 3 and the edge 2a that is substantially similar to the connection obtained with the plastics cladding 13 described above, ensuring the impermeableness of the panel 1.

[0051] If the panel 1 is constituted, as in the example shown in Figures 1 to 5, by the flat rectangular body 2, with which four metallic profiled elements are associated perimetrically on the four sides, in a plan view the shape of the profiled elements 3 is advantageously trapezoidal, with oblique sides inclined at approximately 45° so as to mate exactly with the oblique sides of the adjacent profiled element.

[0052] The assembly of the invention is therefore as follows: with reference to Figure 9, after producing the flat body 2 provided with perimetric slots that constitute the first and second seats and optionally comprising an external cladding 11, the operator or a machine can proceed by laterally associating the profiled elements 3.

[0053] It has thus been observed that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, a panel having been provided which can be used to produce units, particularly kitchen units, and is cheap as regards the manufacture of the components and their assembly.

[0054] At the same time, the panel is highly durable, not only from the mechanical and functional standpoint but also as regards the preservation of an optimum aesthetic appearance.

[0055] The assembly of the invention is so simple and standardized that it can be achieved even by using suitable automatic machines, thus achieving a further reduction in production costs.

[0056] The presence of the metallic profiled elements gives strength to the panel, minimizing water infiltrations and damage due to heat.

[0057] Furthermore, the metallic profiled elements ensure optimum mechanical strength at the very regions that are most affected by accidental impacts.

[0058] Finally, the presence of the metallic profiled elements gives the panel a particularly pleasant and innovative aesthetic impact, differentiating it from the known types usually marketed in the field of kitchen units.

[0059] The materials used, as well as the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention, may of course be more pertinent according to specific requirements.

[0060] The various means for performing certain different functions need not certainly coexist only in the illustrated embodiment but can be present per se in many embodiments, including ones that are not illustrated.

[0061] The disclosures in Italian Utility Model Application No. TV2002U000015 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0062] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A panel, particularly for kitchen units, characterized in that it is constituted by a flat body with which one or more metallic profiled elements are associated or associable perimetrically, said profiled elements comprising first means for connection to said panel and second means for sealing said panel against liquids.

2. The panel according to claim 1, characterized in that said one or more metallic profiled elements are constituted by a flat base from which said first means for connection to said structure protrude transversely.

3. The panel according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said second means for sealing said panel against liquids protrude from said base in a direction that is approximately parallel to said first interconnection means.

4. The panel according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said first interconnection means are constituted by a first wing, which is approximately perpendicular to said base and is associable in a first seat formed along the entire length of one of the edges of said flat body.

5. The panel according to claims 1 and 4, characterized in that said first wing protrudes approximately at the central region of said base, so as to affect the entire length of said base.

6. The panel according to claims 1 and 4, characterized in that said first seat, obtained along a plane that is approximately perpendicular to said edge of said flat body, is approximately as high as, or slightly lower than, the thickness of said first wing, so as to allow interconnection by interference.

7. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first wing has a shape that is provided, in an upper region and/or in a lower region, with teeth that are triangular or trapezoidal.

8. The panel according to claims 1 and 7, characterized in that said teeth of said first wing are preferably triangular, with their free vertex directed toward said base so as to facilitate interference coupling with said first seat and act as means for locking said profiled element against extraction from said flat body.

9. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second means for forming a seal against liquids are constituted by a second wing that is approximately perpendicular to said base and is associable in a second seat formed preferably along the entire length of said edge of said flat body.

10. The panel according to claims 1 and 9, characterized in that said second wing protrudes approximately at the upper end of said base, so as to affect preferably the entire length of said base.

11. The panel according to claims 1 and 9, characterized in that said second seat, obtained along a plane that is approximately parallel to the plane of arrangement of said first seat, is approximately as high as said second wing is thick.

12. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said metallic profiled element has an approximately F-shaped transverse cross-section constituted by said vertical base from which said first lower wing and said second upper wing protrude.

13. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second seat is formed above said first seat, at a distance from said first seat that is approximately equal to the distance between said first and second wings.

14. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second seat is formed at a recess provided along said edge of said flat body, so as to ensure, once said profiled element and said flat body have been associated, the exposure of a portion of said second wing.

15. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lengths of said first and second seats are respectively greater than the lengths of said first and second wings, so as to ensure that respective cavities for the accumulation of any excess adhesive material remain after completing the interconnection between said profiled element and said flat body.

16. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second wing advantageously has in a lower region one or more longitudinal grooves for conveying any excess adhesive material.

17. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said flat body is constituted by a core which is optionally not impermeable and on the outside of which a cladding made of impermeable material is associated, characterized in that said cladding affects at least part of said edges of said flat body, a strip of said cladding being arranged temporarily in front of at least said second seats.

18. The panel according to claims 1 and 17, characterized in that said strip, made of plastics material, such as a polymeric or melamine-based material, is suitable to be pierced or folded by said second wing during the interconnection of said profiled element and the edge of said flat body.

19. The panel according to claims 1 and 18, characterized in that said second wing has a free end that is approximately point-shaped, with the vertex orientated approximately downward so as to lie approximately on the same plane of arrangement as said grooves.

20. The panel according to claims 1 and 19, characterized in that the shape of said second wing forces the breakage of said strip at its lower side, or its upward rotation, and then its upward folding so as to lie approximately horizontally and adhere to the walls of said second seat.

21. The panel according to claims 1 and 20, characterized in that the interposition of said cladding strip between said second wing and said core of said flat body constitutes a barrier that is impermeable to liquids and is as wide as said strip.

22. The panel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is constituted by said approximately rectangular flat body, with which four metallic profiled elements made of aluminum or light alloys are associated perimetrically on the four sides.

23. The panel according to claims 1 and 22, characterized in that the shape of said four profiled elements, in plan view, is trapezoidal, with oblique sides inclined at approximately 45°, so as to mate exactly with the separate oblique sides of the adjacent profiled element.

Drawing