It is largely known that composite kitchen cabinets of the above cited kind may comprise both floor-mount, i. e. standing units and wall-mount, i. e. suspended units, in which said suspended units are usually attached to the wall in a cantilevered, i. e. overhanging manner, possibly in an aligned arrangement with the floor-mount or standing units therebelow, through a notoriously critical and complex operation that must generally be carried out by relatively skilled personnel with the use of adequate tools.

In order to minimize such difficulties encountered when installing the units, it has been proposed to provide the cabinet in the form of a rigid self-bearing framework having two side upright members and related crosspieces and support brackets, on which modular floor-mount units

and wall-mount units are then allowed to rest in position, respectively.

On the other hand, the self-bearing framework turns out to undesirably limit the architecture of the composite cabinet, especially in the case in which said cabinet is to be installed according to an afore- mentioned island configuration. In this particular case, the difficulty is furthermore generally known of creating configurations involving suspended units having a large extension, since this would require the use of a correspondingly large number of associated support upright members if an adequately robust and stable structure is to be obtained.

In conclusion, it is for these reasons that it is usually preferred for such island-type configurations to be designed and created by making solely use of floor-mount or standing units, possibly integrated by just a few suspended units, as supported by respective upright members or hung to the ceiling, for a generally reduced overall extension.

It is on the contrary a main purpose of the present invention to provide a composite kitchen cabinet having a simple, robust and rational structure, comprising a large extension of overhanging suspended units that require just a minimum amount of support upright members.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a composite kitchen cabinet of the above mentioned kind which is capable of being developed in a versatile manner, with a variable architecture, even in the case of an island-type configuration as mentioned above.

According to the present invention, these aims are reached in a composite kitchen cabinet with an improved structure incorporating the features and characteristics as recited in the appended claims.

Features and advantages of the present invention will anyway be more clearly and readily understood from the description that is given below by

way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a first embodiment of the present invention; - Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a detail of the composite kitchen cabinet illustrated in Figure 1; -Figure 3 is a schematic front view of a second embodiment of the present invention; - Figure 4 is a schematic top view of a preferred variant of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3.

With particular reference to Figure 1, the composite kitchen cabinet, in the most elementary embodiment thereof, is mainly formed by a load- bearing support column 1 which may extend over the full height from the floor 2 and the ceiling 3 of the room, possibly integrated into a floor-mount or standing unit 4.

The cabinet further comprises a plurality of overhanging, i. e. suspended units 5, which may be intended for containment, i. e. storage use and/or to serve as shelves or the like. In the preferred example illustrated in Figure 1, in particular, the suspended units 5 are provided in the form of horizontal shelves, one of which then at least partially forms a worktop (indicated at 5') associated to the floor-mount unit 4.

In any case, at least two of the suspended units 5 are jutting out in a cantilevered manner, at different heights, from the support column 1, to which they can be secured with the help of appropriate, per se known fastening means.

In an advantageous manner, the suspended units 5 may have a large horizontal extension and at least two of them are interconnected, substantially in correspondence of a respective end portion 7 thereof, by means of a joining and stiffening member 6 forming a continuous structure with the interconnected suspended units 5 themselves.

In the example described with reference to Figure 1, such a continuous structure substantially extends in the form of an open serpentine, with the upper and lower suspended units 5 (the lower one of said suspended units comprising the worktop 5'of the floor-mount unit 4) extending out in a cantilevered manner from the column 1 towards a side wall 8 of the room. Each one of the intermediate suspended units 5 is on the contrary interconnected, by means of respective joining and stiffening members 6 arranged on alternately opposed sides of the column 1, with an upper suspended unit 5 on a side and a lower suspended unit 5 on the other side.

In any case, as this has been demonstrated also experimentally, the above described mechanical combination of the component parts 1,5 and 6 brings forth a synergetic effect; in particular, the joining and stiffening members 6 prove effective in advantageously imparting rigidity and robustness to a surprisingly considerable extent to the entire continuous structure, even in the case in which the suspended units 5 are jutting out in a cantilevered manner from the column 1 to a great extension in a substantially horizontal direction. At the same time, even a single load- bearing support column 1 may prove adequate to effectively support the entire structure 5,6, so that also the geometrical versatility, the construction simplicity, the lightness and the easy assembly and installation of the whole composite kitchen cabinet may be readily and fully appreciated.

These considerations are still more appreciable in their purport if reference is made to Figures 1 and 2, in which the joining and stiffening

members 6 are rectilinear and vertical. In particular, each of the horizontal suspended units 5 and joining members 6 are constituted by a lightweight stratified structure comprising respective mutually opposing planes or layers 9,10 joined to each other by means of protruding head members 11.

The connection between suspended units 5 and joining members 6 at the respective end portions 7 thereof may be advantageously accomplished under interposition of angle-section joints 12 having opposite inner receptacles 13 that are so shaped and sized as to be capable of accommodating respective head members 11 of the suspended units 5 and the joining members 6. Each such receptacle 13 is defined, among other things, by a butt-end wall 14 provided with perforations for the insertion of bolts 15, or the like, that ensure mechanical fastening of each angle-section joint 12 with a corresponding head member 11 of a suspended unit 5 and/or joining member 6.

Upon having so completed the fastening of the various units to each other by means of the bolts 15, the functional mechanical portions of the angle-section joint 12 may be advantageously and simply concealed, for both aesthetical and safety reasons, by snap-fitting onto the angle-section joint 12 a complementary cover 16 provided with inner elastic tabs 17 adapted to engage corresponding checks or detents of the angle-section joint itself.

It may be so concluded that the angle-section joints 12 become an integral part of the continuous structure that is supported by the load- bearing column 1 and is defined by the suspended units 5 and the joining and stiffening members 6.

The afore described joining and fastening method allows a certain degree of freedom to kitchen cabinet designers and fitters. As illustrated in Figure 1, for instance, two angle-section joints 12 may be interposed in a

sequence, so as two form a S-shaped joint 12', between two adjoining suspended units 5 (or two adjacent joining and stiffening units 6), so as to be able to still more effectively and fittingly adapt the architecture of the continuous structure 5, 6, 12 to the differing aesthetical and/or geometrical requirements.

It will be appreciated that composite kitchen cabinet described above may be the subject of a number of modifications and variants without departing from the scope of the present invention.

With reference to Figure 3, for example, the continuous structure 5,6, 12 may develop into a closed-serpentine shape, rather than an open- serpentine one. Furthermore, especially in the case that the overall development or extension of said continuous structure 5,6, 12 is particularly large and wide, there may be provided at least a further support column 1, from which the suspended units 5 will then extend, i. e. jut out in a cantilevered manner, and with respect to which the joining and stiffening members 6 will preferably extend, i. e. jut out on opposite sides.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the composite kitchen cabinet according to the present invention is particularly suited for installation into island-type configurations with the main advantages, over traditional solutions, of a large and wide extension of the suspended units 5 and the need to provide for just a minimum number of support members 1. This practically implies the possibility of a further development, or extension, of the composite kitchen cabinet according to the present invention, which may be advantageously realized as illustrated in Figure 4, i. e. installed into an island configuration with the suspended units 5 (and possibly the floor-mount or standing units 4) that extend in a substantially curvilinear manner from the columns 1 on respective horizontal planes lying above each other.

In such an embodiment, the standing units 4 and the continuous structure 5,6, 12 form, along with the support columns 1, an island-like configuration (with a substantially C-shaped plan outline) that substantially delimitates an accessible inner space 18, so that the whole structure of the composite cabinet (with the totality of the water, electric and gas fittings and appliances forming the functional equipment thereof turns out to be conveniently and fully accessible by the user from both inside and outside.

The structure of the composite cabinet according to the present invention may be further rationalized by providing the support columns 1 in a hollow configuration, so as to enable them to accommodate utility fixtures such as power cables, water and/or gas pipes and the like (not shown for reasons of greater simplicity) in their interior, and to support such fixtures as power sockets and/or switches 19 on the outside.