FURNITURE ELEMENT COMPRISING A CORNER PIECE

Abstract: A furniture element such as a door panel, a table top and the like mainly consisting of a box-shaped construction of bent-over sheet material having a flat bottom (1) and sidewalls (2) at an angle thereto, wherein at each corner of the box the proximal rims (3) of the sidewalls (2) are retracted with respect to the imaginay corner line A-A and a separate corner piece (5) interconnects said rims, said corner piece (5) having two inwardly recessed wings each engaging the inner sides of the walls (2), whereas said box-shaped construction being filled out with a filling material.

Description: Furniture element comprising a corner piece The invention relates to a furniture element such as a door panel, a table top and the like mainly consisting of a box-shaped construction of bent-over sheet material having a flat bottom and-sidewalls at an angle thereto, said box-shaped construction being filled out with a filling agent. Such furniture elements are used, for example, for cupboard doors or refrigerators, in which the filling agent has an insulating and stiffening effect. It is common practice to use sheet material of a thickness such that it provides sufficient protection for the door panel or table ttp respectively and permits of welding together the contiguous rims of the standing sidewalls and of subsequently polishing them. Then the furniture element has to be finished with an adorning layer, for example, paint, lacquer and the like or a suplementing coating of leather or the like. It has been found that the manufacture of such kinds of furniture elements is time-consuming and hence expensive. The invention has for its object to manufacture a furniture element of the kind set forth in a cheaper manner and provides to this end a furniture element which is distinguished in that in each corner of the box the proximal rims of the sidewalls are retracted with respect to the imaginary corner line and a separate corner piece interconnects said rims. Thanks to the use of the separate corner piece welding and polishing have become redundant, which brings about considerable saving of costs. Moreover, since welding operations are not needed, it is now possible to directly start with the finished plate already provided with the desired paint or coating. The corner piece may be fixed in any suitable way, for example, by means of glue. According to the invention it is preferred, however, to provide the corner piece with two wings each engaging the inner sides of the walls of the box construction. By slipping the corner piece from the inside into the corner of the box and by subsequently introducing the filling agent, the corner piece is automatically clamped tight. This renders any aftertreatment superfluous. In order to permit of mounting hinges or similar expedients as near the corner as possible, the edges of the wings remote from the corner piece are inwardly recessed. The corner piece lends itself, moreover, admirably as a protective member against shocks to which the corners of the furniture element are exposed, for which purpose the corner of the bottom plate between the rims of the sidewalls is also removed and the resultant space is occupied by the corner piece. The filling agent is preferably a foam having a high insulation value so that the furniture element is suitable for use in cupboard doors or refrigerators. The invention will now be described more fully with reference to an embodiment. The drawing shows in: Fig. 1 a perspective front view of a corner of a furniture element provided with a corner piece embodying the invention, Fig. 2 a perspective rear view of the corner of the furniture element of fig. 1, the corner piece being removed from the corner of the box constructionr Fig. 3 a perspective view of the corner piece employed in the furniture element shown in figs. 1 and 2. from figs. 1 and 2 it will be apparent that the furniture element consists of a relatively thin metal sheet which is bent over to form a box construction in accordance with the desired shape of the furniture element. This ahpe may be rectangular, hexagonal or otherwise polygonal. The box construction finally has a bottom plate 1 and side walls 2 at the edges thereof and at an angle thereto. The proximal rims 3 of the sidewalls are retracted with respect to the imaginary corner line A-A so that a recess is formed at the corners of the box construction. In the embodiment shown also the corner of the bottom plate 1 at 4, mainly located between the rims 3 of the sidewalls 2, is removed. The resultant, recessed part of the box construction is filled out by means of a corner piece 5, which may have any desired form, but in the embodiment shown it has an outerside registering with the outer side of each sidewall 2. The corner piece may be rounded off at 6, but it may, as an alternative, be rectangular as shown at 7-in fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows that the corner piece has two wings 8, the outer side of which comes into engagement with the inner side of the sidewall 2. The rim 9 of each wing remote from the corner piece 5 is inwardly bent, which has the advantage that auxiliary pieces such as hinges and the like can be arranged as near the corner of a door panel as possible (see fig. 1). The fastening holes 10 are indicated schematically. Finally it should be noted that the wings 8 may also be provided with end flanges 11, which will adjoin, on the one hand, the inner side of the bottom plate 1 and, on the other hand, the inner side of flanges 12 extending along the longitudinal rims of the sidewalls 2. The manufacture of the furniture element can be carried out in a simple manner be previously forming the element shown in fig. 2 by bending an open metal -sheat and by subsequently placing the corner piece 5 from the inner side in the corners of the box-shaped construction so that the wings 8 and the flanges 11 come into contact with the inner side of the box. By subsequently filling out the hollow space of the box-shaped construction with a foam (not shown), the corner piece is anchored. Thus the corner piece can withstand shocks. As a matter of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawing.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A furniture element such as a table top, a door panel and the like, mainly consisting of a box-shaped construction obtained by bending over sheet material and having a bottom plate and sidewalls at an angle thereto, said box construction being filled out with a filling agent characterized in that at each corner of the box the proximal rims of the sidewalls are retracted with respect to the imaginary corner line and in that a separate corner piece interconnects said rims. 2. A furniture element as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the corner piece is provided with two wings each engaging the inner sides of the walls of the box construction. 3. A furniture element as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the rims of the wings remore from the corner piece have an inwardly bent-over shape. 4. A furniture element as claimed in claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the corner of the bottom plate between the rims of the sidewalls is removed. 5. A furniture element as claimed in claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the corner piece has an end flange interconnecting the ends of the wings (8). 6. A furniture element as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims characterized in that the filling agent is a foam.

Inventors: VAN GILS, ANTONIUS CORNELIUS MARIA
Applicants: IE PE GE BV
Application year: 1982
Main classification: A47B96
IPC codes: A47B96, E06B3, F25D23