manufacturing of a furniture part

The present invention relates to a furniture part, a furniture assembly and a method for manufacturing a furniture part. More specifically, the present invention relates to joining furniture parts where at least one of the furniture parts is entirely or partly constructed of a honeycomb material, where a lock part is fitted in the honeycomb material.

A honeycomb material generally consists of two outer plates and a layer between the outer plates which has some kind of cellular structure, often a honeycomb shape, hence the name honeycomb material. A material of this kind has the advantage of being light while at the same time being relatively strong. Such a material will be very well suited to the furniture industry, but so far no one has succeeded in finding ways of joining and locking together furniture parts made of honeycomb material.

The object of the present invention has therefore been to attain a solution for joining and locking together furniture parts where one or both of the furniture parts are at least partly made of a honeycomb material.

It has also been an object to attain a solution which provides a simple process for manufacturing the furniture parts.

It has also been an object to attain a solution which provides furniture where the joining of the furniture parts is not visible when the furniture parts are assembled to form a piece of furniture.

These problems are solved by means of a furniture part as defined in claim 1 , a furniture assembly as defined in claim 6 and a method for manufacture of a furniture part as defined in claim 14. The independent claims define further embodiments of the invention.

Thus a furniture part is provided which is entirely or partly made of a honeycomb material. The furniture part is constructed with at least one groove in the

honeycomb material and in the groove there is mounted a first lock part. The at least one groove and the lock part are complementarily shaped so that the lock part fits into the groove. The lock part is further arranged to lock with a second furniture part. The second furniture part is then provided with a cooperating lock part with the result that the two furniture parts are locked together.

In order to fix the lock part in the groove, the lock part is preferably glued into the groove in the honeycomb material, but other suitable securing means may of course be employed. At least one external side of the lock part preferably has a surface which is entirely or partly serrated. This is an advantage, particularly for the surfaces facing the honeycomb material, since a serrated surface will give the lock part a better grip on the honeycomb material when it is mounted and glued in the groove.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the lock part is a profile. The profile may advantageously be extruded from a suitable material, for example aluminium. The lock part may also be made of other materials, such as other metals or alloys which cannot necessarily be extruded, or alternatively of a suitable plastic material.

A furniture assembly is also provided comprising a first furniture part and a second furniture part, where at least the first furniture part is entirely or partly made of a honeycomb material. This is preferably a furniture part as described above. As in the above, the first furniture part is provided with at least one groove in the honeycomb material and in the groove is mounted a first lock part. The second furniture part further comprises a second lock part which is arranged to cooperate with the first lock part on the first furniture part for locking together the first furniture part and the second furniture part.

The second lock device does not need to be arranged in a honeycomb material, and the second furniture part does not need to include any honeycomb material. For example, a corner post on a piece of furniture may be made of another material such as aluminium, in which case the second lock device is preferably also made of aluminium. In an alternative embodiment, however, both the first and the second furniture part may be at least partly made of a honeycomb material, and both the first and the second furniture part may be provided with at least one groove in their honeycomb material, and in the grooves in the first furniture part and the second furniture part, the first lock part and the second lock part respectively may be arranged in a similar manner to that described above.

In an embodiment the first lock part may be in the form of a profile and comprise an outside facing the second furniture part. The outside preferably comprises an opening for insertion of the corresponding second lock part and lock edges projecting into the interior of the profile for locking the second furniture part's second lock part. The lock edges may advantageously be slightly slanting so that the width of the opening is gradually reduced inwards in the opening towards the interior of the lock part.

The second lock part preferably comprises outwardly projecting lock arms which fit the opening in the first lock part. The lock arms comprise lock surfaces which abut the corresponding lock edges on the first lock part when the first furniture part and the second furniture part are locked together. The lock arms and/or the lock edges are slightly elastic, with the result that by pushing the lock arms on the second lock part into the opening on the first lock part, the lock arms will engage with the lock edges as the two furniture parts are locked together. The first lock part and/or the second lock part are preferably each glued in its or their respective groove in the honeycomb material in the first furniture part and the second furniture part, but other suitable securing means may of course be employed.

In an embodiment of the invention at least one external side of the first and/or the second lock part has a surface which is entirely or partly serrated. As mentioned above this will give the lock parts a better grip in the groove when they are glued.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first lock part is made of aluminium. The second lock part is also preferably made of aluminium.

A method is also provided for manufacture of a furniture part which can be locked to a second furniture part, where the furniture part is entirely or partly made of a honeycomb material. The method involves a groove being made in the furniture part's honeycomb material and a lock part, whose shape is complementary to the shape of the groove, is mounted and fixed in the groove.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the groove in the honeycomb material is milled out, but other suitable methods for making a groove in the honeycomb material may of course also be employed.

As already mentioned above any suitable method for fixing the lock part in the groove may be employed, but the lock part is preferably secured in the groove in the first part's honeycomb material by the lock part being glued into the groove. In order to obtain a better fit for the lock part in the groove, at least one of the lock part's outer sides is preferably provided with a serrated surface.

It is mentioned above that each of the two furniture parts is provided with a groove for the lock parts. However, several grooves may be provided in each furniture part and it is also conceivable that two or more lock parts may be arranged in each groove. The groove may of course be in a variety of shapes. It may be elongated with different lengths. It may also be envisaged as square or circular in form, or it may be of another suitable shape.

Some non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the figures, in which

Figures 1-3 illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 4-5 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention.

The three different embodiments illustrated in the figures are relatively similar and in the following description corresponding features of the various embodiments will have identical reference numerals. In figures 1 -3 a furniture assembly 10 is illustrated comprising a first furniture part 16 and a second furniture part 12. The part of the furniture part 16 illustrated in figures 1 and 2, is made of a honeycomb material as described in the preamble to the application. In the honeycomb material of the first furniture part 16 a groove 32 is milled out. In the groove 32 a first lock part 14 is mounted. The first lock part 14 is preferably glued into the groove 32. In order to achieve the best possible fit for the first lock part, one or more outer sides 35, 36 on the first lock part 14 are serrated, as illustrated in the figures. It can also be seen in the figures that the first lock part 14 is in the form of a profile.

The first lock part 14 comprises an opening 18 as illustrated in figure 2. The opening extends in towards the interior of the lock part 14 and is composed of two lock edges 20 extending inwardly towards the interior of the lock part 14. The lock edges 20 may advantageously be slightly slanting so that the width of the opening 18 is reduced inwardly towards the interior of the lock part 14.

The second furniture part 12 comprises lock arms 22 which are provided with lock surfaces 23 arranged in such a manner that they engage with the lower end edges 26 of the lock edges 20. The lock arms 22 are designed so as to be able to be inserted in the opening 18 and interact with the lock edges 20, with the result that they go into engagement. The lock surfaces 23 ensure that the two furniture parts are kept locked together.

The lock edges 20 and the lock arms 22 may advantageously be flexible, thereby simplifying the insertion of the lock arms 22 in the opening 18 until they become engaged.

In figures 4 and 5 an embodiment of the lock parts is illustrated which is slightly different from the embodiment described above. The first lock part 14 has the same design as above, while the second furniture part 12 has a flat shape and is provided with lock arms 22 which can be inserted into the opening 18 on the first lock part 12 as described above.

In the last embodiment in figure 6 a first furniture part 16 and a second furniture part 30 are illustrated where both the furniture parts are made of a honeycomb material. In both the furniture parts 16, 30 a groove is provided in which the lock parts 14 and 12 respectively are arranged in the same way as illustrated in the figures above.