FURNISHING ELEMENT FOR EDGES OR CORNERS OF SURFACES OF BUILDINGS

Technical field

The present invention relates to a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor.

Prior art

As is known, a skirting board is an edge covering, which covers the lower part of an interior wall of the room, covering the joint between the surface of the wall and the floor.

The skirting board performs important functions:

- jointing, to cover the uneven edge which is inevitably created between the joint of the floor and the wall;

- protection, to protect the wall from getting kicked or scuffed and also to prevent any furniture coming into direct contact with the wall;

- decoration.

A skirting board is usually made of various materials with a decorative aim such as, for example, marble, ceramic, wood, etc. and is subject to the deteriorating action of the environment, as well as being easily inclined to suffer impacts and scratches. This implies the replacement of the entire skirting board.

Similar functions are also performed by frames for walls, corners of walls or ceilings, under-steps, etc.

Object of the invention

In this context, the technical task underpinning the present invention is to propose a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor, which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above.

In particular, the aim of the present invention is to propose a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor, which is versatile, i.e. easily and quickly adaptable as a function of the type of furnishings.

The explained technical task and the specified aims can be easily reached by a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor, comprising:

- a support having at least a first portion and a second portion inclined to one another;

- at least one LED light source arranged on the first portion of the support and configured to emit light away from the first portion;

- an image reproducing a graphic representation and/or the effect of a predefined material or of a simulation thereof, the image being applied on the second portion so that the light radiation emitted by the LED light source hits the image at least partially;

- a panel shaped so as to be inserted between the first portion and the second portion of the support and sized so as to partially occupy a volume comprised between said portions for assuming a configuration covering the support, the panel being made of a material adapted to make the light radiation pass through.

The image is a 2D image or a raised image, i.e. 3D.

According to an aspect of the invention, the furnishing element comprises a layer of material such as a film or a polyvinyl chloride slab, the layer of material bearing such image.

According to an aspect of the invention, the furnishing element comprises a digital screen configured to project the image.

According to one embodiment, in the covering configuration of the support, the panel has a first surface inclined with respect to the second portion.

Preferably, the first surface is inclined with respect to the second portion by an angle comprised between 1 ° 10°. According to one aspect of the invention, the support comprises at least one abutment element on the panel so as to guarantee stability for the coupling of the panel to the support.

In particular, the panel has at least one recess conformed and sized so as to be engaged in the abutment element.

Preferably, the support comprises two abutment elements and the panel has two recesses conformed and sized in order to be engaged, respectively, in one of the abutment elements.

According to one aspect of the invention, the panel is made of one of the following materials: plexiglass, polycarbonate, glass.

According to one aspect of the invention, the support is made of one of the following materials: plastic, wood, composite wood.

According to one aspect of the invention, a passage is obtained for one or more cables in the support.

Preferably, the first portion and the second portion are substantially orthogonal.

According to one embodiment, the LED light source comprises an LED strip.

According to another embodiment, the LED light source comprises an LED of the COB type.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following indicative, and hence nonlimiting, description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor, as illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

- figure 1 illustrates a furnishing element, in particular a skirting board, according to the present invention, in a sectioned side view;

- figure 2 illustrates the skirting board of figure 1 , in an exploded view;

- figure 3 illustrates a different embodiment of the skirting board of figure 1.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to the figures, the number 1 indicates a furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame for walls, corners of walls or corners of ceilings, or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor. The furnishing element can also be used for embedding into floors, walls or ceilings.

The furnishing element 1 comprises a support 2. The support 2 has at least a first portion 2a and a second portion 2b inclined to one another. The inclination between the two portions 2a, 2b is variable according to the inclination between the surfaces (e.g. walls, floors) which are intended to contact the two portions 2a, 2b, respectively.

Preferably, the first and the second portion 2a, 2b have a prevalently longitudinal extension and are substantially orthogonal to one another.

In the embodiment described and illustrated herein, the support 2 is substantially L-shaped in a cross section. In other words, the first and the second portion 2a, 2b in a cross section have an extension according to two substantially orthogonal directions to one another.

Preferably, the support 2 is made of flexible material.

For example, the support 2 is made of one of the following materials: plastic material (e.g. PVC), wood, composite wood (e.g. WPC).

Alternatively, the support 2 may be made of a more rigid material, for example aluminium.

The furnishing element 1 comprises at least one LED light source 3 arranged on the first portion 2a of the support 2. The light source 3 is configured to emit light away from the first portion 2a.

According to one embodiment, the LED light source 3 comprises an LED strip, such as for example a silicone LED strip (i.e. provided with protective silicone).

According to another embodiment, the LED light source 3 comprises a COB type LED, where COB is the acronym for the expression “Chip On Board”. It is therefore a single module onto whose substrate various LEDs are welded.

The furnishing element 1 further comprises an image 4 reproducing a graphic representation and/or the effect of a predefined material or a simulation thereof.

According to one aspect of the invention, the image 4 is a 2D image.

According to another aspect of the invention, the image 4 is raised, i.e. it is a 3D image.

For example, the image 4 reproduces one of the following effects: marble, stone, wood, parquet, cement.

The image 4 is applied to the second portion 2b so that the light radiation coming from the LED light source 3 at least partially hits the image 4.

According to one embodiment, the furnishing element 1 comprises a layer of material 14 bearing the image 4.

For example, the layer of material 14 is a film made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Alternatively, the layer of material 14 is a slab on which a film (e.g. PVC) has been applied or on which a digital print corresponding to the image 4 has been applied.

Alternatively, the slab has been subjected to painting or a chemical or mechanical treatment that is visible (and itself constitutes the image 4).

Alternatively, the slab has been painted and such depiction constitutes the image 4.

Alternatively, the layer of material 14 is a slab having an outer surface whose finish itself represents the image 4.

By way of example, the layer of material 14 is a thin slab of marble and the image 4 is directly constituted by a surface of such slab.

For example, the slab is made of a wood veneer having an outer surface that reproduces the effect of a material, such as wood, marble, stone, ceramic, metal, plastic, etc.

Such outer surface may be flat, therefore the image 4 is 2D, or it may have raised parts, therefore the image 4 is 3D.

According to one embodiment, the layer of material 14 is a photographic film or a sheet of paper bearing the image 4.

According to one embodiment, the image 4 is the 3D image of an object obtained with the holographic technique. For example, such hologram may be reproduced three-dimensionally by illuminating the film or slab with a light source, e.g. a laser beam or white light or sunlight.

The layer of material 4 is applicable to the second portion 2b by a means of the known type, for example an adhesive.

According to an aspect of the invention, the furnishing element 1 comprises a digital screen 14 configured to project the image 4 (which will obviously be 2D). In this case, a control unit for controlling the digital screen 14 is also provided, which is configured to impose onto the digital screen 14 the projection of a predefined image according to requirements. For example, the digital screen 14 is an OLED panel (which emits its own light) or a liquid crystal screen (illuminated by an external light source).

The furnishing element 1 further comprises a panel 5 shaped so as to be inserted between the first portion 2a and the second portion 2b of the support 2 and sized so as to partially occupy a volume comprised between the portions 2a, 2b for assuming a configuration covering the support 2.

The panel 5 is suitably made of a material adapted to make the light radiation pass through.

For example, the panel 5 is made of one of the following materials: plexiglass, polycarbonate, glass.

In particular, materials such as plexiglass or polycarbonate which, as well as excellent light conductivity, are flexible materials and provided with high impact resistance.

According to one aspect of the invention, in the covering configuration of the support 2, the panel 5 has a first surface 5a inclined with respect to the second portion 2b, as illustrated in figure 1 .

As the layer of material 14 (or the digital screen) is applied to a surface of the second portion 2b having a substantially planar extension, the first surface 5a of the panel 5 is inclined with respect to said surface of the second portion 2b.

Preferably, the first surface 5a is inclined with respect to the second portion by an angle comprised between 1 ° and 10°.

Such position of the panel 5 with respect to the support 2 (and to the layer of material 4) was designed not to create shadows on the layer of material 4 and thus to make it clearly visible from the outside.

At the same time, such position enables the light radiation emitted by the LED light source 3 to be conveyed towards the outside, as described below.

The LED light source 3 emits light radiation away from the first position 2a and such radiation partially hits the 2D image 4 and partially enters into the panel 5, crosses it and is carried out of the panel 5 itself illuminating an area external to the furnishing element 1 .

Thanks to the “filtering” action exerted by the panel 5, the lighting is diffused and therefore more suitable for preserving sight.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a part of the panel 5 facing towards the outside with respect to the support 2 is satin-coated so as to emit suffused and uniform radiation.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the part of the panel 5 facing towards the outside with respect to the support 2 is transparent so as to emit more defined radiation.

In the embodiment using the digital screen 14, the latter provides additional light radiation with respect to that provided by the LED light source 3.

According to one embodiment, illustrated in figures 1 -2, the support 2 comprises at least one abutment element 7a, 7b on the panel 5 so as to guarantee stability for the coupling of the panel 5 to the support 2.

The panel 5 has in turn at least one recess 8a, 8b conformed and sized so as to be engaged in the abutment element 7a, 7b. In the embodiment described and illustrated herein, the support 2 comprises two abutment elements 7a, 7b and the panel 5 has two recesses 8a, 8b conformed and sized in order to be engaged, respectively, in one of the abutment elements 7a, 7b.

According to another embodiment, the panel 5 has two projections that are inserted at corresponding blind indentations or recesses made in the support 2. In this embodiment, the panel 5 is substantially parallel to the second portion 2b of the support 2.

According to one aspect of the invention, a passage 9 is made in the support 2 for one or more cables, e.g. for the power supply of the LED light source 2 and/or of the digital screen 14 (where present).

In the embodiment described and illustrated herein, the passage 9 is obtained in the first portion 2a.

From the description provided, the characteristics of the furnishing element for edges or corners of surfaces of buildings, e.g. used as a skirting board or frame or fairlead on a wall or as a slide or threshold on a floor, according to the present invention, are clear, as are the advantages thereof.

In particular, the furnishing element thus described is extremely versatile, i.e. easily and quickly adaptable to different types of furnishing.

In fact, it is sufficient to disengage the panel from the support to be able to access the layer or film bearing the graphic representation of the decoration or simulating the effect of a material. By replacing this layer, the effect or decoration is easily changed, thus being able to renew the furnishings of a room.

In the version using the digital screen, such modification is even simpler seeing as it is sufficient to command the screen to project a different 2D image. In that case, part of the luminosity comes straight from the screen.

Furthermore, the arrangement of the panel so as to act as a cover of the support enables the inside to be isolated (therefore the light source and the layer) from the external environment, reducing wear and the accumulation of dirt.