Patent Application
20230266111
This invention relates in general to a templating tool and a method of templating, and is particularly, although not exclusively, concerned with a templating tool for templating the overhang of a kitchen worktop.
Kitchen worktops may be manufactured to order and installed so as to overhang the cabinets or units beneath by a predetermined distance. For example, a worktop may be manufactured and installed such that it extends 60 mm beyond the front surface of the cabinet below. Accordingly, the manufactured dimensions of the worktop are often dependent upon the locations and dimensions of the cabinets.
The determination of the required dimensions of a component (such as, for example, a worktop) according to the dimensions and geometry of pre-existing features (such as, for example, those of pre-installed kitchen components or those of a room itself) is often referred to as “templating.”
It is desirable during kitchen design and manufacture, as well as other design and construction work, that the templated dimensions of a component are known to a high degree of accuracy and precision. Accordingly, it is desirable that errors in measuring and calculating dimensions are reduced and if possible prevented.
According to existing methods, when determining the dimensions of a worktop to be installed on a bank of cabinets, a user may typically initially determine the location and dimensions of the cabinets (such as, for example, by using a laser) and subsequently determine the dimensions of the worktop based on the desired overhang and relationship between the worktop and the cabinets.
However, it has been found that, when determining the location and dimensions of the cabinets, merely directing a laser onto the surface of a cabinet may result in measurement errors resulting from, for example, the surface finish of the cabinet causing diffuse reflections or the large surface area of a cabinet allowing for multiple measurement locations.
Further, as all sides of a cabinet are not visible from the same location, it is required to take a second laser measurement from a different position. It is, therefore, desirable to simplify the process of templating and reduce the scope for error.
According to an aspect of the this invention, there is provided a templating tool for templating the dimensions of a worktop or other substantially planar component, wherein the templating tool includes a measurement target and an engagement formation for engaging a support on which the worktop or component will be installed. The measurement target may be spaced apart from the engagement formation by a predetermined distance. Upon engagement of the support by the engagement formation, the measurement target may define a predetermined distance from the support. This aspect may form part of and/or be used in combination with any of the following aspects.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a templating tool for templating the dimensions of a kitchen worktop, wherein the templating tool includes a measurement target, an engagement formation for engaging a kitchen unit (such as, for example, a kitchen cabinet or cupboard, preferably a floor-standing unit) on which the worktop will be installed, and a body portion, wherein the measurement target and the engagement formation extend away from the body portion, and wherein the measurement target is spaced apart from the engagement formation by a predetermined distance such that upon engagement of the kitchen unit by the engagement formation, the measurement target defines a predetermined distance from the unit (such as, for example, a front or exterior surface thereof).
The tool may allow a user to directly determine the location of an edge of the desired worktop without having to perform successive calculations based on indirect measurements, each calculation and measurement of which entails its own error margins.
The predetermined distance may correspond with (such as, for example, be substantially equal to) the desired overhang of the worktop once installed.
The engagement formation may include a substantially planar protrusion. The engagement formation (such as, for example, the substantially planar protrusion) may include an engagement surface for engaging and/or abutting (such as, for example, configured to engage and/or abut, optionally in a vertical plane) an external surface of the unit (such as, for example, an external vertical surface of a unit). The external surface of the unit may include an external front, back, side, or lateral surface of the unit, such as a front or back panel of a cabinet, or a support strut of the unit (such as, for example, on which the installed worktop will rest). The engagement formation may additionally include an underside of the body portion (such as, for example, an underside of the balancing portion) for engaging an upper surface of a cabinet or other component.
The measurement target may define a plane (such as, for example, a vertical plane) at a predetermined distance from the engagement formation (such as, for example, the engagement surface). The plane may extend perpendicularly away from the body portion, and may have first and second major surfaces. The first major surface may include a distal face, and the second major surface may include a proximal face. The engagement surface and the measurement target (such as, for example, the measurement surface) may be parallel.
The templating tool may include a body portion. The body portion may be substantially planar. The measurement target and the engagement formation may extend away from the body portion, optionally in opposite directions (such as, for example, directions perpendicular to a plane of the body portion).
The body portion may include a spacing portion that defines the predetermined distance between the measurement target and the engagement formation (such as, for example, the predetermined distance between the measurement surface and the engagement surface). The pre-determined distance may be non-zero. The measurement target and the engagement formation may not be contiguous (such as, for example, may not form or share a common boundary or surface).
The measurement target may be provided at a distal end of the body portion. The measurement target may include a measurement surface. The measurement surface may include a distal face (such as, for example, an external end face) of the measurement target at a predetermined distance from the engagement formation (such as, for example, the engagement surface), or a proximal face (such as, for example, an internal end face) of the measurement target at a predetermined distance from the engagement formation (such as, for example, the engagement surface). The measurement target and/or the measurement surface may be substantially planar and extend perpendicularly away from the plane of the body portion.
The engagement formation may be provided part way (such as, for example, half way) along the tool, at an opposite end of the spacing portion to the measurement target. The engagement formation may be provided at the junction between the spacing portion and a balancing portion. The engagement formation and/or the engagement surface may be substantially planar.
The tool may be configured to rest (such as, for example, balance) on a top or upper edge or surface of an external panel or component (such as, for example, the component on which the worktop will be supported) of the unit (such as, for example, without toppling or sliding or rotating about the edge of the external panel). The top or upper edge may be providable (such as, for example, provided) in a horizontal plane and/or may face upwards.
The body portion may include a balancing portion configured to balance the tool on a top (such as, for example, upward facing) edge of a panel or component of the unit. The balancing portion may act as a counterweight to the measurement target, the engagement formation, and the spacing portion.
Upon engagement of the unit by the engagement formation, the tool (such as, for example, the body portion) may extend beyond and behind the edge of the external component. The spacing portion and/or the measurement target may extend away from (such as, for example, beyond or proud of or in front of or outwardly of) the unit (such as, for example, the top edge and/or the surface engaged by the engagement surface). The balancing portion may extend inwardly of the unit (such as, for example, towards the interior of the unit). Only the balancing portion (such as, for example, the underside of the balancing portion) may support the weight of the tool on the unit (such as, for example, the edge of the external component of the unit).
The balancing portion may include a thickness dimension that is greater than (such as, for example, twice) that of the spacing portion. The balancing portion may have a thickness substantially equal to that of the spacing portion, such that the body portion may have a uniform thickness. The balancing portion may be weighted.
The body portion may include a change in a thickness dimension. The change in thickness may be provided at the junction or interface between the spacing portion and the balancing portion. The change in thickness may be provided in alignment with (such as, for example, adjacent) the engagement formation.
The predetermined distance may be 0 mm (such as, for example, the measurement surface and the engagement surface may be coplanar), 10 mm, 35 mm, or 60 mm. The engagement surface and the balancing portion may engage different surfaces of the same component, or may engage different surfaces of different components.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a kit comprising a pair of templating tools. The pair may include a first tool and a second tool. For the first tool, the predetermined distance may be defined from the engagement formation to the measurement surface of the tool, the measurement surface including a distal and/or exterior face of the measurement target. For the second tool, the predetermined distance may be defined from the engagement formation to the measurement surface of the second tool, the measurement surface of the second tool including a proximal and/or interior face of the measurement target.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of templating a component (such as, for example, a worktop), the method including the steps of engaging a support on which the component will be installed and taking a measurement to and/or from the measurement surface of the tool. The method may include placing the tool on an upper (such as, for example, upward facing) surface of a support (such as, for example, a kitchen unit).
The method may include a method of templating a worktop, the method including the steps of engaging, by the engagement formation, a unit on which the worktop will be installed, and taking a measurement to the measurement surface of the tool.
The method may include engaging an external surface (such as, for example, external vertical surface) of the unit by the engagement surface of the tool. The method may include balancing the tool on an upper surface of the unit.
The method may include engaging the unit by a second tool (such as, for example, a second tool of a pair of tools). The second tool may engage the unit on an aspect of the unit opposite to that on which the first tool is placed. The method may include taking a measurement from the measurement surfaces of both tools. The method may include taking a measurement from the measurement surfaces of both tools from the same laser device location.
To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and repetition of text in the specification, certain features are described in relation to only one or several aspects or embodiments of the invention. However, it is to be understood that where it is technically possible, features described in relation to any aspect or embodiment of the invention may also be used with any other aspect or embodiment of the invention.
Various aspects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
Near Side Embodiment
With reference to
Partially along the body portion 30, an engagement formation 20 extends perpendicularly away from the body portion 30 in a second direction. In particular, the engagement formation 20 extends away from a lower surface or underside of the body portion 30, while the measurement target 10 extends away from an upper surface of the body portion 30. In the illustrated arrangement, the measurement target 10 and the engagement formation 20 extend away from the body portion 30 in opposing but parallel directions such that the first and second directions oppose one another.
The body portion 30 includes a spacing portion 32 that defines a perpendicular separation between the measurement target 10 and the engagement formation 20. The body portion 30 further includes a balancing portion 34 that, as will be explained later, is configured to act as a counterweight to the spacing portion 32, the measurement target 10, and the engagement formation 20.
The spacing portion 32 and the balancing portion 34 are coplanar and arranged in series along the length of the body portion 30. The balancing portion 34 defines a thickness that is approximately twice that of the spacing portion 32 such that at the junction between the spacing portion 32 and the balancing portion 34, the body portion 30 includes a change in thickness 36. In the illustrated embodiment, the change in thickness 36 is provided adjacent (such as, for example, substantially aligned with) the engagement formation 20 and is defined by the interface between the spacing portion 32 and the balancing portion 34.
The engagement formation 20 includes a substantially planar protrusion, the plane of which is perpendicular to the plane of the body portion 30. The engagement formation 20 includes an engagement surface 22 (on the obscured major surface of the engagement formation 20 shown in
The measurement target 10 is substantially planar, the plane of which is perpendicular to the plane of the body portion 30 and parallel with the plane of the engagement surface 22. The measurement target 10 includes a measurement surface 12 that forms an end face of the templating tool 1. The measurement surface 12 is configured to be used as a measurement target, such as a laser measurement target, from which laser distance measurements may be taken.
The measurement target 10 and the engagement formation 20 are spaced apart by a predetermined perpendicular distance that corresponds to the templating overhang that the tool 1 is configured to template. For example, when the templating tool 1 is configured to template an overhang of 60 mm between a front edge of a worktop and the front surface 52f of a cupboard beneath, the perpendicular distance between the measurement surface 12 and the engagement surface 22 is equal to 60 mm.
Accordingly, upon engagement (such as, for example, abutment) of a front surface 52f of a cupboard by the engagement surface 22, the measurement surface 12 defines a plane that is a predetermined perpendicular distance from the engagement surface 22 and thus from the front surface 52f of the kitchen cabinet 50.
A distance measurement (such as, for example, a laser distance measurement) may thereby be taken against the measurement surface 12, such as, for example, so as to determine a distance from a site datum to the front edge of the desired worktop. That is, with reference to the orientation shown in
The balancing portion 34 is configured (such as, for example, provided with a thickness dimension, a length dimension, and/or weighted) to act as a counterweight to the spacing portion 32, the measurement target 10, and the engagement formation 20 such that the templating tool 1 is able to balance on the relatively narrow top surface of the external panel 54f of the kitchen cabinet 50. In particular, the balancing portion 34 may be configured to maintain the engagement surface 22 and the underside of the balancing portion 34 in abutment with external panel 54f and thereby prevent the tool 1 from rotating or sliding relative to the external panel 54f when a user leaves the tool 1 in position.
Far Side Embodiment
With reference to
The templating tool 100 includes a measurement target 110 provided at a predetermined distance from the engagement formation 120. As with the templating tool 1, the measurement target 110 is provided at a predetermined distance from the engagement surface 122 that is configured to abut an external back surface 52b of an external back panel 54b or other component of a cupboard 50. As is shown by the reflected orientation of the cabinet 50 in
The measurement surface 112 defines a predetermined distance from the engagement surface 122 such that when the engagement formation 120 engages the external panel 54b in the same manner as the external panel 54f, the measurement surface 112 defines a predetermined distance to the external surface 52b of the external panel 54b.
However, the templating tool 100 differs from the templating tool 1 in that the measurement target 110 includes a measurement surface 112 on an interior or proximal face, rather than the exterior or distal end face of the target 10 as shown in
In order to template the far edge of a worktop overhang, a distance measurement (such as, for example, a laser measurement) may thereby be taken from the site datum to the measurement surface 112 in order to determine the distance from the site datum to the far edge of the desired worktop overhang. In relation to the orientation shown in
Accordingly, when templating two edges of a worktop for a kitchen cabinet 50 (such as, for example, a bank or an array of kitchen cabinets), a user may place the tool 1 on the near side of the cabinet 50 (such as, for example, on external front panel 52f) and the tool 100 on the far side of the cabinet 50 (such as, for example, on external back panel 52b). The measurement surface 12 and the measurement surface 112 will then both be facing the same direction such that distance measurements to each desired overhang (such as, for example, from the left hand side towards the right hand side in each of
Put differently, a pair of templating tools 1, 100 may include a first tool 1 that defines a predetermined distance from an engagement surface 22 to the measurement surface 12, and a second tool 100 that defines the same predetermined distance from an engagement surface 122 to the measurement surface 112, the difference between the tools 1, 100 being that the same distance is defined by different faces of the measurement target 10, 110.
With reference to
The method 400 may additionally include the steps of placing a second templating tool 1, 100 (such as, for example, the other of tools 1, 100) on top of a surface 54f, 54b (such as, for example, a surface opposing the surface 54f, 54b) of a kitchen cabinet and taking a distance measurement to the measurement surface 12, 112 of the second templating tool 1, 100. The method may further include the step of templating the worktop (such as, for example, determining a dimension thereof) by determining a difference between the two distances to the measurement surfaces 12, 112.
10 mm Example
In an example of near side embodiment, the tool 1 includes a total length of 85 mm, the body portion 30 includes a width of 30 mm, the spacing portion 32 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a length of 6 mm, the balancing portion 34 includes a length of 75 mm and a thickness of 4 mm, the measurement target 10 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a height of 25 mm, the engagement formation 20 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a height of 25 mm, and the change in thickness 36 includes a 45° incline in alignment with and spanning the 2 mm engagement formation 20. The measurement surface 12 is therefore provided 10 mm from the engagement surface 22.
In an example corresponding with the far side embodiment, the tool 100 includes a total length of 87 mm, the body portion 130 includes a width of 30 mm, the spacing portion 132 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a length of 8 mm, the balancing portion 134 includes a length of 75 mm and a thickness of 4 mm, the measurement target 110 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a height of 25 mm, the engagement formation 120 includes a thickness of 2 mm and a height of 25 mm, and the change in thickness 136 includes a 45° incline in alignment with and spanning the 2 mm engagement formation 120. The measurement surface 112 is therefore provided 10 mm from the engagement surface 122.
35 mm Example
The 35 mm example near side embodiment may have the same dimensions as the 10 mm example near side embodiment, with the exceptions that the tool 1 includes a total length of 110 mm, and the spacing portion 32 includes a length of 31 mm. Accordingly, the measurement surface 12 is provided 35 mm from the engagement surface 22.
The 35 mm example far side embodiment may have the same dimensions as to the 10 mm example far side embodiment, with the exceptions that the tool 100 includes a total length of 112 mm, and the spacing portion 132 includes a length of 33 mm. Accordingly, the measurement surface 112 is provided 35 mm from the engagement surface 122.
60 mm Example
The 60 mm example near side embodiment may have the same dimensions as the 10 mm example near side embodiment, with the exceptions that the tool 1 includes a total length of 135 mm, and the spacing portion 32 includes a length of 56 mm. Accordingly, the measurement surface 12 is provided 60 mm from the engagement surface 22.
The 60 mm example far side embodiment may have the same dimensions as the 10 mm example far side embodiment, with the exceptions that the tool 100 includes a total length of 137 mm, and the spacing portion 132 includes a length of 58 mm. Accordingly, the measurement surface 112 is provided 60 mm from the engagement surface 122.
The tools 1, 100 and the method 400 of this invention may obviate the requirement to laser measure against the front surface of the kitchen cabinet itself, which can return erroneous results due to the surface finish of the cabinet and/or the large surface area of the cupboard allowing a vast number of potential measurement locations.
Further, this invention may reduce the errors associated with worktop templating by reducing the number of measurements to be taken and/or by reducing the number of subsequent calculations to be performed.
This invention may also permit a user to template a worktop from only a single location. For example, the surface constituting the far side of a cabinet is not ordinarily visible from the near side of the cabinet such that a user might need to take a first measurement to the near side, then relocate to the far side so as to take a second measurement to the far side, and then perform a subsequent calculation. The tool 100 of this invention permits the far edge of a worktop to be templated from the near side.
Although this invention has been described largely in relation to kitchen cabinets, it will be appreciated by the skilled person that this invention may equally be applied to worktops for other uses and similarly to templating for other purposes, such as worktops for workbenches, templating for carpentry, etc.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example, with reference to one or more exemplary examples, it is not limited to the disclosed examples and that alternative examples could be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2202392.3 | Feb 2022 | GB | national |
