TOTAL MODULATED FURNITURE WITH SLIDING JOINTS

The field where the invention claimed apply is fabrication of the furniture.

The furniture produced today can be included in two categories : assembled furniture and demountable furniture.

The assembled furniture , involving the final assembly in the factory, means high costs regarding transport and storing. The above mentioned furniture uses fixed joints like : flat gluing, dowels glued joint, tongue and groove glued joint , tenon and mortise glued joint, dovetailing , shaped glued joints. The demountable furniture has many advantages compared with assembled furniture : the final assembly isn't done in the factory but home, packing .storing .transporting records relatively low costs, so the final cost is also low. This kind of furniture consists in different pieces that can be built together into the final furniture using reversible or half-reversible joints like: steering pivot, guide dowel .screw joints, quick assembly joints or Ericsson screws.

A solution from actual state of art close to the invention claimed is Ericsson screw that is functioning as follows : in the horizontal panel is mounted a special wood screw that keeps the head out 90 degree in the direction of vertical panek The vertical panel is provided in the edge , for the head of the screw , with a hole which continue with a milled cylindrical part where the eccentric nut come , catch the head of the screw and tighten the joint by rotation. All types of joints described above are associated with the construction of one piece of furniture and does not allow a total modulated system of furniture able to create different structures of storing furniture.

The technical problem is the possibility to create a multitude of different structures of storing furniture by using a restricted number of standardized elements.

This invention refers to the possibility of achieving storing furniture , modulated and completely demountable, in a multitude of structures by using a limited number of standardized elements that are horizontal (4,Fig.1) and vertical panels(6,Fig.1) equipped on both jointing edges with sliding elements(8,Fig.7) and three different jointing connectors in shape of L with 2 sliding channels on jointing edges(1 ,Fig.7), T with 3 sliding channels on jointing edges(2,Fig.9) and C (cross) with 4 sliding channels on jointing edges (3, Fig.8). To obtain one rectangular piece of furniture by using the invention claimed, first the bottom horizontal panel equipped with sliding elements in both left and right jointing edge is assembled by sliding from back to front with two connectors in shape of L provided with two sliding channels disposed in 90 degree and than two vertical panels equipped with sliding elements in both jointing edges are assembled by sliding from back to front in the sliding channels left empty after the first connection, the vertical panels are assembled by sliding from back to front with two connectors in shape of L provided with two sliding channels disposed in 90 degree and than the top horizontal panel equipped with sliding elements in both left and right jointing edges comes assembled in the channels of the last L

connectors left empty after connecting with vertical panels by sliding from back to front . Than the back panel is mounted to give stability to the whole structure and optional the front :door, drawer, etc.

To obtain one rectangular piece containing n horizontal compartments .first are mounted together n bottom horizontal panels by sliding using two connectors in shape of L in the left and right extreme of the structure and n-1 connectors in shape of T provided with 3 sliding channels disposed in 90 degrees , between the n horizontal panels with the third channel oriented upwards, than n+1 vertical panels are connected by sliding in the channels of the connectors priory mounted ,than is attached by sliding to each vertical panel two L connectors in the left right extreme of the structure and n-1 connectors in shape of T to each top of vertical panel placed in the middle of the structure, than n horizontal panels are mounted by sliding in the channels left empty of the upper connectors and n back panels are assembled with wood screws to give stability to the whole structure. For vertical structures the procedure is similar with the mention that in each level there are two side panels one left , one right and there are n+1 horizontal panels. For spatial structures the procedure is similar with the mention that .where necessarily it will be used connectors C (cross) that are provided with 4 connecting channels disposed in 90 degree to each other being able to connect that parts of the structure in shape of cross.

The advantages of the total modulated furniture with sliding edges are : -it gives the possibility of obtaining a multitude of furniture structures, mathematically expressed: an infinity of different structures, by using a limited number of standardized components.

-the final user of the furniture can define himself the structure of the furniture he wish according to the available designated space.

-any structure obtained by using the invention claimed can be easily modified by making the structure smaller or bigger according needs, -any part of the furniture can be easily replaced in case of deterioration -by using a minimal software the final user can define according with his space his own structure via Internet and order it .

-the components of the invention claimed are easy to be produced and fits the high speed lines providing high productivity and low costs, -mounting and demounting are easy to be done and does not require specialized knowledges or sophisticated technical equipment

-the components of total modulated furniture with sliding joints are easy to be packed, stored and transported.

-regarding environmental protection, after the time of use .the structures created by using the invention claimed are easy to be demounted and join the recycling circuit.

Figure 1 shows a frontal view of a four compartments furniture and its elements: the L connector (1 , Fig.1),the T connector(2,Fig.1), the C-cross connector(3,Fig.1),the horizontal panels(4,Fig.1), the vertical panels in two different lengths (5 and 6 ,Fig.1). Figure 2 shows a frontal view of a four compartments storing furniture and marks

the place of section A-A.

Figure 3 shows a left side view of the structure described in Fig.2 and marks the place of section B-B.

Figure 4 shows a top view of the structure described by Fig.2 Figure 5 shows the section A-A.

Figure 6 shows the section B-B and contains 3 details marked :Det.1 ,Det.2, Det.3 Figure 7 shows a zoomed view of detail 1 marked as Det.1 in Fig.6 .which is the section of the bottom left corner of the structure and the components: the horizontal panel (4,Fig.7) and the vertical panel (5,Fig.7) both equipped with sliding elements (8,Fig.7) fixed in the edge of the panel by wood-screws (7,Fig.7) and assembled together by the L connector provided with two sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (1 ,Fig.7) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements fixed on the edge of the panels both horizontal and vertical.

Figure 8 shows a zoomed view of detail 3 marked as Det.3 in Fig.6 .which is the section of the middle cross joint of the structure and the components: the horizontal panels (4, Fig.8) and the vertical panel (5 and 6,Fig.8) both equipped with sliding elements (8, Fig.8) fixed in the edge of the panel by wood-screws (7, Fig.8) and assembled together by the C-cross connector provided with four sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (3, Fig.8) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements fixed on the edge of the panels both horizontal and vertical.

Figure 9 shows a zoomed view of detail 2 marked as Det.2 in Fig.6 .which is the section of the bottom T joint of the structure and the components: the horizontal panels (4,Fig.9) and the vertical panel (5,Fig.9) both equipped with sliding elements (8,Fig.9) fixed in the edge of the panel by wood-screws (7, Fig.9) and assembled together by the T connector provided with three sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (2, Fig.9) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements fixed on the edge of the panels . Figure 10 shows a detailed view of section A-A of the structure and the components: the bottom vertical panel (5, Fig.10) and the top vertical panel (6,Fig.1O) both equipped with sliding elements (8, Fig.10) fixed in the edge of the panel by wood-screws (7, Fig.10) and assembled together by the L connector provided with two sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (1, Fig.10) and the T connector provided with three sliding channels disposed in 90 degree(2,Fig.1O) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements fixed on the edge of the panels both horizontal and vertical. The sliding channel length is equal with the length of the sliding elements(8,Fig.1O) and does not come on the whole connector's(1 , Fig.10) length but stops before to reach the front because of aesthetic reasons. The back panels (9,Fig.1O) comes after the structure is done to stabilize the structure and cover the back of the furniture and are fixed by wood-screws.

Figure 11 shows a 3D view of the middle left T joint and the components: the vertical bottom left panel (5, Fig.11) and the middle horizontal panel (4, Fig.11)

already connected with the T connector (2,Fig.11) and the top vertical left panel(6,Fig.11) in it's way to be connected to the structure by the sliding element(8,Fig.11) .

Figure 12 shows a 3D view of the middle central C-cross joint and the components: the vertical bottom central panel (5,Fig.12) and the middle horizontal panels (4,Fig.12) already connected with the C-cross connector

(3,Fig.12) and the top vertical central panel (6,Fig.12) in it's way to be connected to the structure by the sliding element (8, Fig.12).

Figure 13 shows a 3D view of the bottom left L joint and the components: the bottom horizontal panel (4,Fig.13) already connected with the L connector

(1 , Fig.13) and the bottom vertical left panel (5,Fig.13) in it's way to be connected to the structure by the sliding element (8, Fig.13) .

The invention claimed offers the possibility of obtaining storing furniture modulated and totally demountable in a multitude of different structures (compartments) by using a limited number of modulated elements: horizontal and vertical panels equipped on jointing edges with sliding elements, L connector, T connector ,C-cross connector and back panels. The horizontal (4,Fig.1) and vertical (5 and 6,Fig.1) panels ,done in massive wood, laminated chipboard ,MDF or honeycell structures, are equipped on the jointing edges, by means of woodscrews(7,Fig.7), with the same type of sliding element, made in hard plastic(8,Fig .7) The L connector .produced from hard plastic or aluminum ,is provided with two sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (1,Fig.7) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements(8,Fig.7) and the length is equal with the width of the panels. The T connector .produced from hard plastic or aluminum ,is provided with three sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (2, Fig.9) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements(8,Fig.9) and the length is equal with the width of the panels. The C-cross connector .produced from hard plastic or aluminum ,is provided with four sliding channels disposed in 90 degree (3, Fig.8) , sliding channels that are copying in section the shape of the sliding elements(8,Fig.8) and the length is equal with the width of the panels. The front end of the sliding element is not visible because both sliding element and sliding channel are shorter than the length of the connector as shown in (8,Fig.10).ln order to get structures to cover a wide range of aesthetical and functional preferences, both horizontal and vertical panels can be produced with three different lengths L, 2L and 4L maintaining the width in all cases.

The invention claimed can be very easy industrially exploited because the components are modulated and fits the high speed producing lines, giving high productivity and low costs, and on the other hand the consumer can define himself, alone or consulted ,the furniture structure he wish according to the space and he can modify the structure any time by extending or diminishing the structure to his wish. Another reason for exploitation in industry is that the furniture is demountable ,and in this case all processes: production, packing, storing, transport etc. are achieved with minimum costs and very efficient.