BACKGROUND ART Panels for use in cabinetry and furniture including household furnishings, such as units for storage and display, kitchen cabinetry, and other items, have most commonly been manufactured from flat pieces of wood or similar materials which can be cut or machined to a desired shape and size. The production of curved panels is a traditional art, but is highly skilled and labour intensive with an associated high cost.

A number of techniques are known for manufacturing curved panels.

One technique involves the use of laminations. In this method, thin flexible layers of wood or plastic or other similar material are bent and glued while holding the layers in the desired configuration until the glue has dried. This method requires a former and clamps to hold the layers in place during the gluing stage. Upon release of the clamps, the curved panel typically springs back to some degree. The final shape of the panel can therefore not be accurately determined. As a consequence, it is often necessary to manufacture the other portions of the item of furniture once the panel has been made and its shape determined. In addition, this method is limited only to simple continuous curves, such as arcs or S-shapes and is not suitable for arcs of small radius.

Curved panels can also be manufactured by kerfing. In this method, grooves are cut in the back of a sheet of wood or other material. The grooves allow the panel to bend about an axis which is essentially parallel to the direction of the grooves. A second sheet is then glued to the back of the grooved sheet. However, this method also requires gluing and clamping in order to obtain a panel of the desired shape. In addition, the resulting panel comprises a series of flat sections rather than a true curve, depending on the number of grooves cut into the sheets.

A method described in US 5,816,013 uses a number of pins secured to the opposite ends of a sheet. One or more members are used to engage the pins in order to maintain the sheet in a curved state. Again that method is limited to relatively simple continuous curves.

It is also known to form curved panels by using a mould. Typically, a substance such as a mixture of wood fibre and resin material can be used to fill the mould. High pressures are usually necessary when filling a mould. Therefore a large capital outlay is required for the machinery for this process. There is also a significant cost in preparation of the mould.

This method is therefore more suitable for production of large numbers of identical curved panels, which reduces the cost per unit.

It is also known to laminate layers of one or more materials together and then shape the product. This method usually requires a router with five axes of control. Such machines are not readily available due to their high cost.

It is an object of the invention to provide a curved panel which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages, or to at least provide a useful alternative.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION In one aspect of the invention there is provided a curved panel for use in furniture or cabinetry including a plurality of curved components and an alignment means where each curved component has a flat top surface and a flat bottom surface and each component has a width corresponding approximately to the thickness of the curved panel, and where the top surface of one component abuts the bottom surface of another component, and curved components are aligned and fixed together.

Preferably, the alignment means includes two or more holes located along the length of each curved component and an elongate member passing through each series of aligned holes so as to allow the plurality of components to be aligned and fixed together.

Typically, the elongate members are metal rods. Each rod may be screw-threaded at each end so that a nut or similar object can be fixed to each end of the rod to tighten and secure the curved components together. The holes are accurately positioned so that the

curved components can be ali jned and fixed together to form the curved panel. The elongate members are preferably of suitable dimensions to give a snug fit in the holes to enable accurate alignment of the curved components.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the curved panel includes cap components to cover the ends of the elongate members. Preferably, the cap components have blind holes which align with the ends of the elongate members and are glued to the first and last curved components of the panel.

Each curved component is usually made by cutting the component from a sheet or board of appropriate material, such as wood, medium density fibreboard, particle board, or plastics material. Preferably, a numerically controlled tool, such as a router or laser cutter, is used.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of producing a curved panel for use in furniture or cabinetry including the steps: -forming a plurality of curved components each having a flat top surface and a flat bottom surface and each component have a width corresponding approximately to the thickness of the curved panel, -aligning the plurality of components so that the top surface of one component abuts the bottom surface of another component, and -fixing the components to each other to form the curved panel.

In a preferred embodiment, each curved component has two or more holes located along the length of the component and the components are fixed to each other by passing an elongate member, such as a rod, through each series of aligned holes. Preferably, each rod is screw-threaded at each end and a nut or other similar object is fixed to each end of the rod to tighten and secure the curved components together.

It is also preferred that each end of the curved panel is capped with a cap component to cover the ends of the elongate members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of a curved panel Figure 3 is a perspective view of another curved panel Figure 4 is a perspective view of another curved panel Figures 5A and 5B are cross sectional views of components of the panel of Figure 4 Figure 6 is a perspective view of another curved panel Figures 7A to 7C are cross sectional views of components of the panel of Figure 6 Figure 8 is a perspective view of a drawer including a curved panel of the invention Figures 9A to 9D are cross sectional views of components of the drawer of Figure 8 Figures 10A to 10G show cross sectional views of curved components of the invention MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The curved panel 1 of Figure 1 has a curved section 2 and a flat section 3. The panel 1 is made up of a number of curved components 4 which each have an identical shape and are aligned and fixed together to form the panel 1. At each end of the panel 1 there is a cap component 5. The cap components 5 can more readily be seen from Figure 2 which shows the assembly of the components to form the panel 1. As can be seen from Figure 2, four rods 6 are shown passing through the series of curved components 4. Each rod 6 is shown having a nut 7 located at each end. Tightening of the nuts 7 holds the curved components tightly together.

It will be appreciated that each curved component 4 is each manufactured with holes at accurately determined locations in order that, on passing the rods 6 through the series of curved components 4, the curved components 4 are aligned to provide the curved panel 1

with an essentially smooth and uniform shape across its surfaces.

As can be seen from one of the cap components 5, holes 8 located in the cap component 5, but not passing entirely through the cap component, are suitably located to cover the ends of the rods 6 and the nuts 7. Typically, the cap components 5 are glued to the ends of the series of curved components 4.

Figure 3 shows an example of a curved panel 9 having apertures 10 and 11. The apertures 10 and 11 are formed by using components 12,13,14 and 15 at spaced apart intervals between curved components 16. As with the curved panel 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2, the curved panel 9 has caps components 17 in order to cover the ends of the rods (not shown).

Figure 4 shows an example of a curved panel 18 which incorporates a flexible inset panel 19. Curved components 20 are spaced apart by a series of curved components 21 and 22. Rods (not shown) are located passing through the series of curved components 20, 21 and 22 and are capped by cap components 23.

As can be seen from Figures 5A and 5B, holes 24 are located in the curved components 20,21 and 22 in order to accommodate the rods. Each of curved components 20,21 and 22 have a groove 25 within which the edges of the inset panel 19 are located so that the inset panel 19 is held firmly in place.

A further example of a curved panel is shown in Figure 6. Panel 26 includes a protruding portion 27 which can serve as a handle for the panel 26. The panel 26 includes a series of curved components 29, a curved component 28 having the protruding portion 27, and cap components 30. The individual components are shown in Figures 7A to 7C.

Components 28 and 29 are shown with holes 31 located so that the components 28 and 29 are aligned when held in place by suitable rods.

Figure 8 shows an assembled drawer 32 having a curved panel 33. The components of the drawer are shown in Figures 9A to 9D. The panel 33 includes curved components 35 and 36, and cap components 34. Components 36 have abutments 37 in order that the sides of the drawer can easily be fixed to the panel 33. Holes 38 are indicated to accommodate rods (not shown) for alignment and fixing of the components 35 and 36 together.

Figures 10A to 10G are further examples of curved components for use in the manufacture of curved panels of the invention. Each is shown with holes at suitable locations in order that a series of each component can be aligned and fixed together.

Suitable caps then enable the formation of the completed curved panels.

As can be seen from the drawings, many different shapes of panel can be formed using the method of this invention. Thus, the disadvantage of the limitation to simple curves and S-shapes of known methods is avoided.

It will be appreciated that freehand drawings, drafting software programmes, and mathematical equations can be used to generate a representation of a particular curved panel. An appropriate numerically controlled tool can then be used to cut the desired shapes of curved components and drill the required holes in a single operation.

Typically, the panels can be finished by sanding and polishing or painting, or by covering with a sheet of flexible material, such as timber veneer or high pressure laminate.

In addition, it is to be appreciated that the method of the invention can be used for producing panels which have three dimensional variations. Thus, the shape of successive curved components can be varied and assembled to form a contoured profile of the shape desired.

Furthermore, while the term"curve"or"curved"has been used throughout the specification, it is to be appreciated that the term also relates to integers which are straight or flat.

Although the invention has been described by way of example and with reference to embodiments thereof, it should be appreciated that variations and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or components having known equivalents, such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.