Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Benefit of U.S. Provisional Application for Patent Ser. No. 60/960,597, filed on Oct. 5, 2007, is hereby claimed. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a moulding assembly and in particular concerns such an assembly for use in the attachment of above-cabinet treatments, namely finishing or decorative mouldings applied to cabinets for aesthetic purposes. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It is well known in the cabinet-making art to provide a decorative one-piece moulding as an aesthetic feature to finish the top of a cabinet, for example a breakfront bookcase or more mundanely a kitchen cabinet. The moulding generally includes a base part contiguous and integral with an outwardly extending contoured part obtusely oriented in relation to the base part. 
         [0004]    Such a moulding may be a unitary, or one piece, moulding. However, a difficulty commonly associated with a one-piece moulding is its application to the cabinet top because the moulding tends to be unwieldy, especially when fixing the moulding to the cabinet. 
         [0005]    One solution for facilitating the fixing of a decorative moulding to a cabinet top is to produce the moulding as a two piece assembly having. Such two piece moulding assemblies typically have a base piece and a decorative piece for attachment to the base piece such that when affixed one to the other and applied to the cabinet top, the moulding appears to be unitary. An example of such a two piece moulding assembly known in the prior art is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . As shown in section in  FIG. 1 , the moulding assembly  10  has a base piece  12 , for securement to the cabinet top (not shown), with a horizontally-extending tongue  13  provided along the length of the base piece  10  integrally therewith. A separate decorative piece  14  is shown as having a complementary groove  15  for the reception of the tongue  13  to provide an interlocking joint, thus giving the appearance of a unitary moulding. In practice, the pieces of the moulding can be secured together by the use of a bonding agent and/or by the use of fixing such as panel pins or other suitable fixtures. Unfortunately, while it will be readily appreciated that although the tongue  13  and groove  15  is satisfactory the shape and the weight distribution of the decorative piece does not afford the desired stability during the fixing operation of the assembly  10  to the cabinet. Additionally, the orientation of the groove  15  for the prior art assembly  10  is such that its formation during manufacture demands an angular setting that may be difficult or awkward to achieve. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there is a need for an improved two-piece moulding assembly for use as a decorative finishing in an above-cabinet treatment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved two-piece moulding assembly for use as a decorative finishing in an above-cabinet treatment. 
         [0008]    An advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece moulding assembly that facilitates the engagement of the two pieces for fixing. 
         [0009]    Another advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece moulding assembly has a design to afford ease of machining during the manufacturing stage. 
         [0010]    In one aspect, the present invention provides a moulding assembly for attachment to a cabinet top of a cabinet as a decorative finishing for the cabinet, the assembly comprising:
       a base piece of generally elongate form having two end surfaces with a generally opposed top surface and a bottom surface extending therebetween and a generally opposed front surface and back surface extending therebetween, the front surface having a tongue projecting therefrom at an obtuse angle in relation to the top surface; and   a decorative piece having a contoured outwardly directed front surface and a mounting face contiguous therewith, the mounting face having a longitudinally extending groove formed therein, the groove receiving the tongue in interlocking engagement therewith and with the mounting face and the front surface abutting one another, the tongue and groove thereby providing positive support for the decorative piece in relation to the base piece.       
 
         [0013]    Conveniently the tongue of the base piece is so fashioned as to constitute a supporting ledge for the decorative piece when the two pieces are brought together for securement. 
         [0014]    The orientation of the groove is such that its formation during manufacture is simplified in that the plane of the cutting tool is horizontal in orientation, whereas the prior art demands an angular setting that may be difficult or awkward to achieve. 
         [0015]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in which similar references used in different Figures denote similar components, wherein: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a cross section of a prior art two-piece moulding assembly; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a cross section of the two-piece moulding assembly of the present invention; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a perspective exploded view of the two-piece moulding assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3  of the annexed drawings the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be herein described for indicative purposes and by no means as of limitation. 
         [0021]      FIGS. 2 and 3  show a two-piece moulding assembly  20  comprising a base piece  22  and a decorative piece  40 . The base piece  22  is of elongate rectangular form having a top surface  24 , a generally opposed bottom surface  26 , a front surface  28  and a generally opposed back surface  30  with two end surfaces  32 ,  34  between which the other surfaces  24 ,  26 ,  28 ,  30  longitudinally extend. 
         [0022]    The front surface  28  of the base piece  22  is formed with a tongue  36  extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom and longitudinally of the base piece  22 . The tongue  36  is orientated at an obtuse angle A in relation to the top surface  26  and is typically rounded over at its free end  38 . 
         [0023]    The decorative piece  40  has a front outwardly facing front face  42  of contoured form as at  43  and has a mounting face  44  with an angularly oriented back face  45 , generally opposite the front face  42 , extending obtusely from the mounting face  44 . The decorative piece  40  further has a top surface  48 . 
         [0024]    A groove  50  extends longitudinally of the piece  40  and is machined in an obtuse orientation in the mounting face  44 . The groove  50  thus extends substantially parallel to the back face  45 . This parallelism is of particular advantage for the machining of the groove in that the cutting tool needs only to be disposed in a horizontal plane rather than an awkward acute angle as with the prior art. 
         [0025]    In use, in order to assemble the two pieces, the groove  50  of the decorative piece  40  is brought into mating engagement with the tongue  36  of the base piece and in so doing an interlocking engagement, i.e. interlocking registration, is established by virtue of the obtuse angular orientation of the tongue and groove. At the same time, the front surface  42  is brought into abutting contact in a substantially vertical plane with the mounting face  44  when the tongue  36  is engaged in the groove. 
         [0026]    For application to a cabinet top (not shown), the base piece  22  is suitably affixed thereto, generally with the bottom surface  26  abutting thereagainst the cabinet top, with the tongue  36  extending outwardly as seen in  FIG. 3  and the decorative piece  40  is then directed as shown by dotted lines into the engagement relationship with the base piece  22 . The interlocking tongue and groove may be permanently secured together by a bonding agent and/or by at least one panel pin or brad nail. 
         [0027]    The invention thus facilitates application of a decorative finishing to a cabinet top since the decorative piece is able to sit on the base piece, positively supported thereon by virtue of the tongue and groove which maintain the interlocking relationship for the fixing operation of the assembly  20  to the cabinet top. 
         [0028]    Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the disclosure has been made by way of example only and that the present invention is not limited to the features of the embodiments described and illustrated herein, but includes all variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Technology Category: e