U.S. patent application number 11/375122 was filed with the patent office on 2006-07-13 for method for making countertop.
Invention is credited to David Boone.
Application Number | 20060150576 11/375122 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35480717 |
Filed Date | 2006-07-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060150576 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Boone; David |
July 13, 2006 |
Method for making countertop
Abstract
A method of assembling a solid surface countertop and a joint
used in such assembly. Rather than building up a corner area of a
countertop and cutting a radiused corner, pieces are preformed in
the shop having interlocking pieces to provide additional strength
and ease of assembly. The pieces interlock using a similar shaped
joint for the edge pieces and the corner block.
Inventors: |
Boone; David; (Chesapeake,
VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Family ID: |
35480717 |
Appl. No.: |
11/375122 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10867687 |
Jun 16, 2004 |
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11375122 |
Mar 15, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/782.22 ;
156/71; 29/897.31; 52/287.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 96/18 20130101;
A47B 77/022 20130101; Y10T 403/477 20150115; A47B 13/088 20130101;
Y10T 29/49625 20150115; A47B 13/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/782.22 ;
029/897.31; 156/071; 052/287.1 |
International
Class: |
E04F 13/00 20060101
E04F013/00 |
Claims
1. An interlocking joint for a countertop assembly, comprising: a
first piece having a first interlocking surface; a second piece
having a corresponding second interlocking surface wherein said
first piece and second piece are bonded together along said
interlocking surfaces to form said interlocking joint.
2. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said first
piece and said second piece are parts of a solid surface
countertop.
3. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said first
surface has a shape of a rounded corner with an elongated side.
4. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said joint
is used in assembling a countertop.
Description
[0001] This application is a Divisional of co-pending application
Ser. No. 10/867,687, filed on Jun. 16, 2004, the entire contents of
which are hereby incorporated by reference and for which priority
is claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to the assembly of a
countertop and more particularly to the assembly of a solid surface
countertop using a shaped joint for extra strength and ease of
manufacture.
[0004] 2. Discussion of the Background
[0005] A number of different types of materials have been used over
the years for horizontal surfaces used in kitchens and other
places. While wood and stone have been used for a very long time,
more modern materials are preferred to provide surfaces which are
less prone to staining, easier to clean and more attractive.
Porcelain surfaces were utilized for a number of years but have
given way to laminates such as FORMICA which are less
expensive.
[0006] More recently, solid surface countertops have achieved great
popularity for kitchen countertops and other horizontal surfaces.
This material is produced by several different companies under
different trademarks with one of these being known as CORIAN made
by Dupont. This material has a number of advantages in that it has
a very hard and smooth surface and at the same time is very
attractive. Of particular importance is the fact that the material
may be cut with a router or similar tool so that it is not
necessary to prefabricate the surface shape during the
manufacturing process of the solid surface material.
[0007] However, there are some difficulties in using this material.
The material itself is somewhat expensive and accordingly it is
very important not to waste material, in order to keep the price of
the countertop competitive. Solid surface sheets are normally
supplied in a thickness of 1/2''. The normal thickness of solid
surface countertops at exposed edges is 11/2''. Therefore a
build-up at the exposed edge is added to achieve the desired
thickness. Also, the material is easily cracked if sharp corners
are formed. Accordingly, both inner and outer corners on the
countertop should have a radius rather than a sharp corner. While
the countertop material may be worked in the field using standard
tools, it still requires a substantial amount of time of an
experienced workman in order for the countertop to be properly
adhered and shaped so as to avoid weak areas susceptible to
cracking. The cost of labor of an experienced workman in assembling
the countertop and shaping the corners constitutes a major part of
the cost of the entire countertop. Accordingly, it is important
that the time of assembly be decreased as much as possible to avoid
any unnecessary costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of
assembling a countertop.
[0009] The present invention further provides a method of
assembling a solid surface countertop using shaped components and
joints.
[0010] The present invention further provides a shaped joint for
use in assembling a solid surface countertop.
[0011] The present invention further provide preshaped parts for
assembling a countertop.
[0012] The present invention still further provides a method of
assembling a solid surface countertop utilizing shaped joints which
are precut.
[0013] Briefly, the invention achieves this by providing parts
which are shaped and wherein the joints have matching contours and
an interlocking joint to provide a more glue-able surface and
additional strength of the assembly components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of
the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the
same becomes better understood by reference to the following
detailed description when considered in connection with the
accompanying drawing, wherein
[0015] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a countertop;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the underside of a prior art
technique for forming an inner corner of built up layers;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a prior art technique
forming an outer corner;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the underside of the countertop
formed according to the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the parts forming an outer
corner of the countertop shown in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference
numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the
several views and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, wherein the
countertop 10 is shown as having an L shape in plan view. Of
course, other shapes are possible. The countertop has one inside
corner 12, one outside radiused corner 14 and one outside angled
corner 16. Edges 18 and 20 are placed against back walls.
[0021] In the assembly of the countertop, it is preferred that the
final product has the appearance of substantial thickness and in
particular has a thick edge around the visible periphery of the
countertop. This dimension can be for example an inch and a half or
other thickness. However, it is not necessary for the entire
countertop to be this thick and in fact the main surface of the
countertop can be perhaps one half inch thick. While it would be
possible to enlarge the entire countertop to this full thickness,
this is unnecessary and is wasteful of materials which are quite
expensive. Accordingly, the countertop is normally formed with a
thinner layer which extends across the entire surface and the edge
is formed by adding a vertical section to give the appearance of
additional thickness. This edge can be formed either by vertically
aligning a narrow piece along the edge, or by building up two or
more layers along the edge. While this is done in common practice,
it is tedious work since the adhesive must be carefully applied in
order for the final product to have full strength and in order for
the manufacturer of the material to guarantee the final product.
Thus, considerable time is utilized in forming the edge of the
countertop.
[0022] Even more difficult is the formation of corners, both inside
and outside. While it is relatively easy to cut simple corners in
the material, square corners give rise to cracks due to stress
concentrations in the material. Accordingly, it is required to use
a radiused corner, such as is shown in FIG. 1 at 12 and 14. It is
also possible to utilize an angled corner such as shown in 16.
[0023] In the prior art, a common method of forming such a radiused
corner is shown in FIG. 2. Layers of material are added
horizontally along the edge of the main sheet of the countertop 10.
In addition, blocks of material 24 are similarly added in the
corners. Once all of the layers are properly adhered in place, a
router or other similar cutting tool is used to remove the excess
part of the corner block to form a radiused corner 26. In order for
the corner to have sufficient strength, it is necessary that the
blocks be somewhat large. This helps to avoid stress cracks and is
also necessary for strength during the cutting operation. When the
required radius 26 is cut, the workman normally utilizes a template
or other guide, but otherwise basically performs the operation by
hand. As a result, some imperfections will always be present and it
requires further processing by sanding in order to make the
radiused corner completely smooth. This process requires
considerable time on the part of a skilled workman.
[0024] FIG. 3 shows a similar arrangement for an outside corner.
Layers 22 are again placed along the edges and blocks 24 are placed
in the corners. A required radius 26 is then cut using the
workman's skill and possibly a template.
[0025] Whether cutting an inside corner or outside corner, there is
considerable loss of material in the process. Further, even under
the best of circumstances, additional processing in the form of
sanding is necessary since the cut cannot be perfect when done by
hand. Also, it is necessary that the block be oversized in order to
provide enough strength for the processing and for eventual
strength to avoid cracks.
[0026] While it is generally known that numerically controlled
cutting machines can cut such material in a shop, the technique of
pre-cutting shaped corners and matching interlocking shaped
build-up components is not common practice.
[0027] Applicants have avoided this problem by discovering that it
is possible to precut parts in the shop and assemble them with
interlocking corners and edges while increasing the desirable
strength and avoiding the other difficulties presented in the prior
art. As shown in FIG. 4, the countertop 10 includes edge pieces 30
to build up the visible edge of the countertop and also includes
corner arrangements 28. The edge pieces 30 have a shaped edge where
it abuts the corner piece so as to provide a stronger joint and
assist assembly, thus avoiding the necessity for additional wasted
material. Also, by forming these various parts in the shop, a
better layout of the parts is achieved to avoid additional wastage.
In addition, labor is significantly reduced. This is because the
parts can be cut out by a numerically controlled cutter and laid
out on a sheet of material using a computer aided arrangement, as
is known in the art, in order to have less wastage when forming the
parts. While normally the process of programming these parts would
be prohibitively expensive, since the programmed cuts for the
individual parts would have to be separately set up for each job,
Applicants have utilized a parametric software arrangement so that
the shape of the parts can be designed just once, so that for each
subsequent job, the shape will remain the same while the sizes are
adjusted appropriately so that reprogramming of the shape is not
necessary. Thus, the set up time for forming the parts is also
reduced.
[0028] FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the corner arrangement 28.
The corner block is formed with two layers having the same shape.
These two layers are adhered to the counter surface so that the
outer edge is aligned with the outer edge of the counter. These
layers are appropriately glued into place according to standard
procedures. Edge pieces 30 are similarly glued into a rabbet formed
along the edges of the countertop. The edges pieces are adhered to
the countertop in the same standard fashion.
[0029] The end of the edge pieces 30 have a curved shape which
match the curved shape of the layers 28 which form the corner
block. By having these shapes identical, it is possible to adhere
the edge pieces to the corner blocks so that they interlock and
form a strong integral unit. By utilizing an interlocking shape
which has more surface area for adhesive, additional strength
results. Since all of the parts are cut in the shop using
numerically controlled machines, the cuts are identical and less
wastage occurs. Also, because the parts are laid out by computer,
less wastage occurs in the layout process. While block 28 has been
described in terms of the angled corner, other shapes can be formed
for the inner and outer radiused corners 40 and 42.
[0030] The interlocking shape described above, does not have to be
the specific curve as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, but may be any shape
which helps to interlock the edge piece with the corner block.
However, such shapes should not be subject to stress buildup which
can cause cracking of the material. Also, the exact same shape
should be applied to both the edge pieces and the block pieces.
[0031] Furthermore, the countertop has been described as a solid
surface material such as Dupont CORIAN. However, any type of
similar material can be utilized, not only other brands of the same
material, but also other related materials which can be shaped and
properly adhered in order to buildup corners. Also, while a
rabbeted edge has been shown in order to hold the edge pieces, such
an edge is not strictly necessary and may be eliminated if
sufficient strength is formed in the joint otherwise.
[0032] By utilizing the invention described above, less time is
required for the workman. Furthermore, exact cuts can be made using
numerically controlled cutting machines in the shop so that less
sanding is required and better fits are obtained. Furthermore, less
material is wasted both in the cutting operation and in the layout
of the parts. Further, by utilizing parametric software, the shape
may be defined once and the dimensions of new jobs may be simply
inserted to obtain similarly shaped pieces but having different
sizes.
[0033] Numerous additional modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It
is therefore to be understood that within the scope of appended
claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise and as
specifically described herein.
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