Patent Grant
11071382
This patent application claims the benefit of international patent application PCT/GB2017/051978 filed on Jul. 4, 2017 entitled ADJUSTABLE LEG, which claims the benefit of patent application numbers GB 1611656.8 filed on Jul. 4, 2016 entitled ADJUSTABLE LEG and GB 1709478.0 filed on Jun. 14, 2017 entitled ADJUSTABLE LEG. All patent applications identified above are hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to legs, for example for furniture such as cabinets.
One example of a cabinet is the conventional kitchen cabinet.
This arrangement has a number of problems. First, when the installer comes to adjust the rear legs (e.g. leg 10 in
There is a need for an improved form of adjustable leg and/or an improved form of cabinet kit and/or an improved method of assembly.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit comprising: a cabinet base; and an adjustable leg for supporting a cabinet, the leg comprising: a first component having an attachment structure for attachment to a cabinet and a first threaded element integral with and extending from the attachment structure, the attachment structure comprising at least two lugs projecting away from the first threaded element; and a second component comprising a second threaded element threadedly engageable at one end of the second component with the first threaded element, a foot located at the opposite end of the second component, and a driving formation whereby the second component can be engaged by a tool and driven to rotate, the driving formation being located inboard of the thread of the second threaded element; the first and second components being configured so that when they are threadedly engaged the driving formation is accessible through the first threaded element; the cabinet base defining (i) a hole therethrough and (ii) a first set of at least two sockets on its underside for receiving respective ones of the lugs, the sockets being positioned relative to the hole such that when the leg is attached to the base with the fixing lugs located in the sockets the driving formation is accessible through the hole.
The sockets may be in the form of blind holes or through-holes. The lugs may be sized to fit snugly or loosely in the sockets.
The kit may comprise cabinet side walls and a cabinet rear wall, the cabinet side walls and the cabinet rear wall being configured for attachment to the cabinet base to form a cabinet carcass.
The cabinet base may be a planar or substantially planar structure. The cabinet base may have an upper surface that is adapted to be substantially horizontal when the cabinet is installed. The upper surface may be flat. The cabinet base may be formed by a layer of composite material having a waterproof layer on its upper surface. The composite material may comprise processed wood: for example, it may be a chipboard or fibreboard. The waterproof layer may be a sheet of polymer material. The waterproof layer may be bonded by adhesive to the composite layer. The markers may be on the lower face of the cabinet base.
In the kit the cabinet side walls and the cabinet rear walls may be unattached to the cabinet base. The side walls, the rear walls and the base may subsequently be assembled to form part or all of a cabinet carcass.
The cabinet side walls and the cabinet rear may each be substantially planar. They may be packaged parallel to and overlying each other in a flat package.
The first component may comprise a bore therethrough, the bore extending along the thread axis of the first threaded element, the driving formation being accessible through at least a portion of the bore when the first component is threadedly engaged in the second component.
The first component may be threadedly engaged in the second component.
The driving formation may be located at the said one end of the second component.
The driving formation may comprise one or more of: a slot-shaped recess, a cross-shaped recess, a hexagonal recess and a hexagonal protrusion.
The second threaded element may be integral with the driving formation.
The foot may comprise a pad that is free to rotate with respect to the second threaded element.
The second component may comprise a grip formation, for example in the form of a wheel, located outboard of the thread of the second threaded element.
The exterior of each of the lugs may be ribbed for resisting removal of the lug from a corresponding hole in the cabinet; for example the said sockets.
The attachment structure may have three such lugs. The cabinet base may be provided with a socket corresponding to each lug whereby the lugs can be used to promote positional registration between the said hole and the driving formation.
The sockets are positioned relative to the hole such that when the leg is attached to the base with the lugs located in the sockets the hole is aligned with the driving formation.
The kit may comprise a further such adjustable leg. The cabinet base may define a further set of sockets on its underside for receiving respective ones of the lugs of the further adjustable leg. The base might define no through-hole through which the driving formation of the second leg is accessible when the further leg is attached to the base with the lugs of the further leg located in the sockets of the further set.
The first adjustable leg and the further adjustable leg may be of identical form.
The cabinet base may have a front; and the sockets of the further set may be closer to the front than the sockets of the first set.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit comprising: a cabinet base; at least two legs, each leg comprising (i) an attachment structure for attachment to the base, the attachment structure having reference markers whereby the position of the attachment structure relative to the base can be distinguished and (ii) an adjustable support structure, the leg being configured such that the length of the adjustable support structure is adjustable by the application of an linearly elongate tool to the adjustable support structure through the attachment structure; the cabinet base: (i) having two sets of markers on one face thereof, each set of the markers being configured so as to collectively designate a single location at which the markers of one of the legs can be aligned with the markers of that set; and (ii) defining a hole therethrough, the hole being located so as to permit an elongate tool to access the adjustable support structure of one of the legs when the markers of that leg are aligned with the markers of one of the sets.
The cabinet base might define no hole therethrough whereby an elongate tool may access the adjustable support structure of the other of the legs when the markers of that leg are aligned with the markers of the other of the sets.
The markers of the said one of the sets may designate a rear leg position and the markers of the said other of the sets may designate a forward leg position, e.g. with respect to the cabinet base as installed or intended or directed to be installed.
The cabinet may be a kitchen cabinet.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling a cabinet kit, the kit comprising a cabinet base having a hole therethrough and an adjustable leg, the adjustable leg having first and second components threadedly connected together and being configured so that a first one of the components can be engaged by a tool passing in a straight line through the other of the components for causing relative rotation of the components; the method comprising: attaching the leg to the base in a location such that the first one of the components can be engaged by a tool passing through the hole in the base; positioning the base in a desired installation location; and adjusting the leg by means of a tool passing through the hole.
The adjusting step may be performed whilst the leg is engaged with a floor.
The kit used in the method may be a kit as set out above.
The first thread element may be rigidly attached to the attachment structure. The second threaded element may be rigidly attached to the driving formation.
The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
In
The cabinet is supported on a floor 34 by a front leg 35 and a rear leg 36. The legs are shown in cross-section in
The complete cabinet carcass would typically comprise the base 30, two side walls, a back panel and a top panel. Optionally the cabinet may have one or more doors, which could be attached to the side walls by hinges, one or more shelves and/or other accessories.
Each leg comprises two major parts: an upper part 40, 60 and a lower part 41, 61. The upper part is rigidly attached to the cabinet. The lower part engages the ground. The lower part is threadedly coupled to the upper part in such a way as to permit the length of the leg to be adjusted by relative rotation of the upper and lower parts about the thread axis. The cabinet will typically have two or more front legs and two or more rear legs. The legs may be arranged in a rectangular pattern when viewed from above.
In this example the front and rear legs are identical, although that is not essential. The legs will be described in more detail with reference to the rear leg.
The upper part 60 of the rear leg comprises a fixing plate shown generally at 62 and a sleeve 63. The fixing plate and the sleeve may be integral with each other. The fixing plate is intended to facilitate the attachment of the upper part of the leg to the base of the cabinet. The fixing plate has a planar mating surface 64 (
The lower part 61 of the leg comprises a shaft 70, an adjustment collar 71 and a foot 72. The adjustment collar and the shaft may be integral with each other. The foot may be integral with the adjustment collar. The shaft 70 is externally threaded, the thread being configured such that the shaft 70 can mate threadedly with the interior thread 67 of the sleeve 63. The adjustment collar 71 is disposed about the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The adjustment collar has an uneven outer surface, e.g. having ridges or grooves in it, to facilitate gripping of the collar by a user. Conveniently the adjustment collar has a greater diameter than the shaft 70. The foot is located on the opposite side of the collar to the shaft. The foot is located at the lower extremity of the lower part 61 of the leg. The foot may comprise a ground pad 74 at its lower end. The ground pad may be formed of a material such as nylon which facilitates sliding or rotation of the lower part 61 when it is resting on a floor. The ground plate may be attached to the remainder of the lower part of the leg in such a way that it can rotate freely about the axis of the shaft 70 with respect to the shaft. For example the ground plate may be snap fitted in to the remainder of the lower part 61 of the leg. This can help to reduce resistance to rotation between the leg and the floor when the leg is bearing weight. As will be discussed in more detail below, the lower part 61 of the leg is provided with a driving formation 73 whereby a tool can be engaged with the lower part of the leg to drive it to rotate.
The driving formation 73 of the lower part of the leg is a structure that is of non-uniform radius about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 70. The driving formation may, for example be configured to be engaged by a conventional turning tool such as an Allen key, a screwdriver or a spanner. Thus the driving formation may comprise a hexagonal socket, a slot, a cross or a hexagonal boss. Alternatively the formation may be configured to be driven by a tool having a non-conventional head shape. In each case the formation may be centred on and disposed about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 70. As can be seen from
The shaft 70 is arranged so that when the lower leg part 61 is threaded into the upper leg part 60 the driving formation is accessible from through the upper leg part. If the driving formation is recessed in the shaft 70 when viewed from above then the upper end of the shaft 70 is hollow.
The driving formation is preferably located in the threaded part of the shaft 70. The driving formation is preferably located so that in directions perpendicular to the thread axis it is surrounded by the thread. The driving formation is preferably located inboard of the thread. The driving formation is preferably located in the upper half of the shaft 70 (i.e. the longitudinal half furthest from the foot). At least part of the driving formation is preferably located at (e.g. within 10 mm of) the upper end of the shaft 70 (i.e. the end furthest from the foot). If the cabinet is being installed on a particularly uneven floor the installer may need to saw through the lower leg part 61 and remove the foot, or more, from the lower end of that leg part so as to allow it to fit over a prominent part of the floor. When the driving formation is located in the upper section of the lower leg part 61 it can be retained in the shaft even when a lower section of the lower leg part has been removed.
It is especially convenient if the cabinet is provided with through-holes 38 through which the rear cabinet leg(s) can be accessed, because rear legs are more difficult to reach through the void 37. In one arrangement, through-holes 38 are provided for accessing each rear cabinet leg, but no through-holes are provided for accessing each front cabinet leg. Thus the upper surface of the base is intact over the front cabinet leg(s). (See
The lugs 65 make it easier for an installer to get the through-hole 38 in the cabinet base aligned with the driving formation. When there are two or more lugs, by suitable positioning of the holes into which the fixing lugs are to be inserted, the upper part of the leg can be assured of being in the appropriate location relative to the through-hole when the lugs are inserted in the holes. When there are three or more lugs, by suitable positioning of the holes into which the lugs are to be inserted, the upper part of the leg can be assured of being in a desired orientation about a vertical axis when the lugs are inserted in the holes. If more lugs are provided and there is a snug fit between the lugs and the holes then more force may be required to attach the upper leg part to the cabinet base. Therefore, having exactly two or three such lugs is preferred.
If the lugs 65 are omitted then it could be left to an installer to position a leg under the respective access hole so that the interior of the leg is accessible from through the base. If the leg is to be screwed to the base, e.g. using holes 66, guide marks could be provided on the underside of the base, in registration with the access hole, to indicate to the installer where to insert the screws into the base for proper alignment of the leg with the access hole. The guide marks could be indentations or printed indicia.
When the lugs are in the form of dowels they may be configured to fit snugly into the corresponding holes in the base so as to resist removal.
The pitch of the thread formed in the leg is preferably sufficiently short that when the leg is loaded longitudinally friction in the thread will prevent it from turning under that load.
In the arrangement of
The cabinet could be closed with a door, with drawers, could be intended to be left open or could be intended to house an appliance. In the examples given above the leg is used on a kitchen cabinet. The leg could alternatively be used on other furniture, including bedroom and workshop cabinets, on appliances, or for levelling structures such as floors. One or more parts of the cabinet (e.g. the base) may be supplied together with one or more legs as a kit. In the examples given above the leg is installed vertically to support the cabinet. The leg could alternatively be used to space the cabinet in any direction from any adjoining structure.
In the examples given above, the lower part of the leg is inserted into the upper part of the leg. Alternatively the upper part of the leg could carry the male thread and could be inserted into the lower part of the leg which would carry the female thread. If the lower part of the leg carries the female thread, the male thread may be formed on a member that has a longitudinal through-bore through which a driving formation on the lower leg part can be accessed for driving the lower leg part to rotate.
The first and second leg parts may be each formed as respective integral parts, for example by injection moulding, or they may be assembled from sub-parts. The female threaded part, that is sleeve 63 in the arrangement of
The cabinet base may have a front. The front may be distinguished from the rear in the manners known to cabinet assemblers: for example by being fitted on its face with a cosmetic coating such as melamine paper, or by being at the opposite end of the base from an end of the base that is adapted to receive a rear face of the cabinet.
The cabinet may be provided in a kit comprising the base and one or more a first side face, a second side face and a rear face. In kit form the base may be unassembled from one or more of the said faces. The faces may all be of generally planar form. They may be packaged positioned adjacent each other, in a so-called flat pack.
The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present invention may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1611656 | Jul 2016 | GB | national |
| 1709478 | Jun 2017 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2017/051978 | 7/4/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/007808 | 1/11/2018 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200008575 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |
