U.S. patent number 3,926,486 [Application Number 05/435,758] was granted by the patent office on 1975-12-16 for modular furnishings.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Electric Company. Invention is credited to Russell M. Sasnett.
United States Patent |
3,926,486 |
Sasnett |
December 16, 1975 |
Modular furnishings
Abstract
A plurality of prefabricated modular kitchen units are adapted
for floor-to-ceiling installation along at least two intersecting
kitchen walls for minimizing installation time and obviating the
necessity for finishing the walls along which the units are
installed. Installation is facilitated by a corner unit
construction that permits the end-wise insertion of spaced
connectors for joining spaced perpendicularly related modular units
to adjacent sides thereof, as in an L-shaped layout at a kitchen
corner, and in the formation of cooperating recesses or cavities in
the various units to house the necessary wiring and plumbing.
Complete coverage of a wall along which the units are installed is
assured adjacent the ceiling by an adjustable lighting module which
performs the dual functions of lighting the kitchen and providing
an adjustable molding between the modular units and ceiling while
any variations between the wall length and installed units is
compensated for by the installation of a modular panel section. A
further feature of the invention resides in so dimensioning a sink
module that the same may include storage cabinets above the sink
area which are both accessible and non-obstructive to the user.
Inventors: |
Sasnett; Russell M.
(Louisville, KY) |
Assignee: |
General Electric Company
(Louisville, KY)
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Family
ID: |
26915574 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/435,758 |
Filed: |
January 23, 1974 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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221190 |
Jan 27, 1972 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
312/198;
312/223.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B
12/00 (20130101); A47B 77/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
77/02 (20060101); F16B 12/00 (20060101); A47B
053/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/107,111,194-198,228,224,238,278,229,225,257 ;52/36,220 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1,255,448 |
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Jan 1961 |
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FR |
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9,326 |
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May 1896 |
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UK |
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520,156 |
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Mar 1955 |
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IT |
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432,266 |
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Sep 1967 |
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CH |
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477,128 |
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May 1929 |
|
DD |
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960,254 |
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Jun 1969 |
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UK |
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1,385,649 |
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Dec 1965 |
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FR |
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Primary Examiner: Gilliam; Paul R.
Assistant Examiner: Sakran; Victor N.
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 221,190, filed Jan.
27, 1972, now abandoned.
Claims
I claim:
1. A modular furnishing assembly comprising a corner module and at
least two additional modules laterally and transversely connected
adjacent thereto, respectively, each of said modules being
free-standing and having: (1) a base cabinet portion including
parallel side walls and a counter top; (2) storage means having a
top, a bottom, side walls coplanar with the side walls of said base
cabinet, and doors providing access thereto, said storage means
being integral with said base cabinet portion through column means
and panel structure so that no portion of the kitchen wall behind a
module is exposed, said integral column means providing support
independently for each module and said storage means further being
located above and rearwardly offset from said base portion to
define a raceway extending upwardly substantially above the counter
top of said base cabinet portion to provide for electrical wiring
and plumbing to be installed behind said module, said rearward
offset also providing that said doors of said storage means do not
swing outwardly beyond the front plane of said module, said module
being further characterized by at least one of said column means
being spaced inwardly from the common plane of the side walls of
the adjacent storage means and base cabinet portion, thereby
defining, in conjunction with said counter top of said base portion
and said bottom of said storage means, an inset bounded on three
sides only and opening on the fourth side for cooperation with a
like inset of an adjacent module in abutting association therewith
to provide a tunnel for receiving electrical distribution means;
connector means for connecting adjacent modules together along
abutting side walls thereof, said connector means being accessible
from the front of said units; and lighting means located above the
top of and attached to said storage means for illuminating the
surroundings and providing a molding between said storage means and
the ceiling when the module is installed in the room, said lighting
means including an upwardly projecting housing portion below the
ceiling and adjustable means attached to said housing portion to
extend upwardly and abut the ceiling, thereby forming a complete
floor-to-ceiling module.
2. The modular furnishing assembly of claim 1 wherein said
connection means of said module includes vertically projecting
terminals located below the counter top of said base cabinet
portion and inset from the plane of said adjacent side wall of said
module, adapted to be received by one leg of a U-shaped channel
member bridging two adjacent modules.
3. The modular furnishing assembly of claim 1 wherein said corner
module has both transverse and lateral dimensions, one being
greater than the other, yet both exceeding the depth of said
adjacent connected modules to form an L-shaped corner module
wherein said corner module includes a two-faced, vertically
extending recess, one face of which is coplanar with the front
portion of said laterally adjacent connected module and the other
face of which is coplanar with the front portion of said
transversely adjacent connected module.
4. The modular furnishing assembly of claim 1 wherein said counter
top of said module includes a raised shelf portion at the rearward
extremity thereof extending between said parallel side walls to
receive thereupon articles which are thus elevated slightly above
the remaining portion of the counter top surface so that liquids
spilled on said counter top do not flow into contact with said
articles.
5. A modular furnishing assembly comprising a sink module, a range
module and at least one additional storage module attached to at
least one of the foregoing modules, each of said modules being
free-standing and having: (1) a base cabinet portion including
parallel side walls and a counter top; (2) storage means having a
top, a bottom, side walls coplanar with the side walls of said base
cabinet, and door providing access thereto, said storage means
being integral with said base cabinet protion through column means
and panel structure so that no portion of the kitchen wall behind a
module is exposed, said integral column means providing independent
support for each module and said storage means further being
located above and rearwardly offset from said base portion to
define a raceway extending upwardly substantially above the counter
top of said base cabinet portion to provide for electrical wiring
and plumbing to be installed behind said modules, said rearward
offset also providing that said doors of said storage means do not
swing outwardly beyond the front plane of said module, said module
being further characterized by at least one of said column means
being spaced inwardly from the common plane of the side walls of
the adjacent storage means and base cabinet portions, thereby
defining, in conjunction with said counter top of said base portion
and said bottom of said storage means, an inset bounded on three
sides only and opening on the fourth side for cooperation with a
like inset of an adjacent module in abutting association therewith
to provide a tunnel for receiving electrical distribution means;
each of said modules further including connector means for
connecting adjacent modules together along abutting side walls
thereof; said sink module being further defined in that said sink
mounted therein has been mounted at the extreme forward edge of
said sink module base portion substantially forward of the front of
said upper storage means of said sink module; and lighting means
located above the top and attached to said storage means of each of
said modules for illuminating the surroundings when said module is
installed in a room, said lighting means including an upwardly
projecting housing portion below the ceiling.
6. The modular furnishing assembly of claim 5 wherein each of said
modules includes a pre-assembled wiring network.
7. The modular furnishing assembly of claim 5 wherein each of said
modules includes a raised shelf portion at the rearward extremity
of said counter top for receiving articles placed thereon, thereby
maintaining said articles elevated above said counter top so that
liquids spilled on said counter top do not flow into contact with
said articles.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates primarily to kitchen assemblies constructed
from prefabricated modular units.
The great majority of home and apartment kitchen constructions
proceed piecemeal in conjunction with the total construction
project and the actual work done in the kitchen by the contractor
and/or various subcontractors is spread over a substantial part of
the elapsed project construction time. Typically, the plumbing
layout and electrical wiring are done before the walls are
installed, followed by wall installation and the building or
installing of cabinetry or storage space. After the cabinetry is in
place, the various kitchen appliances are placed in the desired
locations. The plumbers then return to hook up the sink,
dishwasher, disposal and the like to the previously installed
drains and supply lines and the electricians return to hook up the
various appliances and provide the desired receptacle outlets,
switches, lighting and the like.
In one apartment construction project that was studied, the average
total on-site effort to install cabinetry and appliances in a
kitchen required approximately 26 man hours spread over a 3 month
period. Substantial effort was required on the part of the
contractor to schedule men and materials for each phase of the
kitchen construction. Prototypes in accordance with this invention
have been installed in apartments comparable to that mentioned
above. Disregarding an initial learning period, the assembly of
cabinetry and appliances at the site required approximately 2 man
hours per kitchen. It is accordingly apparent that on-site
construction time can be substantially reduced by using modular
units to assemble a kitchen.
The desirability of constructing kitchens or other furnished rooms
or living areas from prefabricated modular furnishing units has
been previously recognized as exemplified by the disclosure in
British Pat. No. 26,019 of 1917 which described a modular
furnishing system employing modules of common height and depth and
varying widths constituting a multiple of a given linear dimension.
Other exemplary disclosures appear in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,004,933;
2,660,270 and 2,901,780, in German Pat. No. 812,174 and in British
Pat. Nos. 429,076 and 1,046,344.
One substantial problem in constructing a kitchen from modular
units is the fabrication of a corner module which is compatible
with the remaining modules. One desideratum of modular kitchen
furnishings is that the modules be interconnected to prevent
misalignment along the counter top. A typical method of
interconnecting aligned modules positioned parallel to a single
wall is disclosed in pending applications Ser. Nos. 158,849 and
158,850 filed July 1, 1971 and assigned to the assignee of the
present invention. The connector structures disclosed therein
involve, basically, the end-wise insertion of an elongated
connector into a bipartite cavity formed by cooperating structure
on adjacent modules. The usual corner construction involves a
module having a rectangular cross-section with the lengths of
adjacent sides thereof being equal to the depth of the modular
component abutted thereagainst. Thus mutually perpendicularly
positioned kitchen modules backing on intersecting walls adjacent
the corner define, with the kitchen walls and included corner, a
rectangular space into which the corner module fits to form a
continuation of the countertop from one module to the other. It is
thus apparent that the two modules positioned on adjacent walls
abut at one corner and leave no front facing portion of the corner
module exposed for the insertion of connectors between each of the
perpendicularly related modules and the corner module. The
desirability of using end-wise, insertible connectors between a
corner unit and its adjacent units is for standardization purposes
since different kitchen layouts will dictate that any of the
various units be compatible with any other unit.
Several additional problems exist in providing a modular kitchen
which have apparently not been appreciated by the prior art. It is
desirable to provide means for quickly and conveniently installing
the necessary electrical and plumbing network. This problem is
resolved using a conjunction of different techniques to resolve
specifically different problems, i.e., making the necessary wiring
and plumbing connections from a remote location to the desired
location behind the modular array and exposing the necessary
electrical components to the front of the array. The first problem
is resolved by providing a raceway behind the array and in front of
the wall juxtaposed thereto for receiving electrical cable and
pipes of various function. The second problem is resolved by
forming electrical component receiving cavities between adjacent
units.
An important factor as regards contractor acceptance of the modular
kitchen concept herein disclosed is the fact that the wall surfaces
against which the modular array is positioned are completely
covered obviating the necessity for finishing the walls. As an
incident of the foregoing, storage cabinet structure is integrated
with the sink module at a conveniently accessible level yet
positioned in such a manner as to insure adequate headroom for a
person using the sink.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a perpendicularly related modular
furniture array for use in furnishing a living area such as a
kitchen or other room in a dwelling or office, etc.
A primary purpose of the invention is to provide a corner unit
construction which separates the adjacent perpendicularly related
modules and has a front portion thereof exposed for the insertion
of connectors between the corner module and the flanking adjacent
modules. The structure just described thus defines a
perpendicularly related modular furnishing unit array including
first and second furnishing units fronting on perpendicular
vertical planes, a corner unit between and abutting the first and
second units, and means operable from a location spaced from the
intersection of the planes for connecting the first and second
units to the corner unit.
It is among the further objects of the invention to provide a
composite raceway extending between a modular array and the
associated kitchen walls for the reception of wiring and plumbing
to create as an incident of the juxtaposition of two modules, an
electrical outlet receiving cavity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partly assembled and partly exploded perspective view
of a perpendicularly related modular kitchen array;
FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-section of the corner unit shown in
FIG. 1 taken along line 2--2 thereof;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective of the corner and an
adjacent unit shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the connector
structure;
FIG. 4 is a detailed cross-section of the assembled connector
structure of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-section similiar to FIG. 2, of a
modified corner unit construction;
FIG. 6 is an elevation, with parts in section, of a sink module and
illustrating an electrical distributor as it would appear when the
sink module is abutted against an adjacent module;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the light molding unit taken
along line 7--7 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a finishing or spacing panel which
may be used between the end of a modular unit array and a wall to
close off the gap therebetween.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1 is illustrated a modular furnishing array 10 comprising
an L-shaped kitchen design assembled from a plurality of compatible
modular units including a corner module 12, a storage module 14, a
range module 16, a sink module 18, a dishwasher module 20 and a
refrigerator module 22. Each of the floor supported, or free
standing, modules with the exception of the refrigerator module
includes a lower base portion and an upper cabinet portion
supported thereabove by imperforate column and panel structure so
that no portion of the kitchen wall behind a module is exposed. In
the case of the refrigerator module, the upper cabinet structure is
supported directly over the upper surface of the refrigerator. Each
of the modules are of common height calculated to approximate an
average floor-to-ceiling height and any discrepancy is taken up by
an adjustable lighting module assembly 24 which performs both
lighting and molding functions in a manner to be subsequently
described. The base portions of all of the linear modules 14, 16,
18, 20, 22, i.e., those adapted for placement along a single wall
as opposed to the corner module 12, are of common depth to define
with a portion of the corner module 12 a perpendicularly related
modular front wall. An important feature of a preferred embodiment
of the invention resides in the particular corner module
construction which permits the end-wise insertion of spaced
elongate connectors to positively interconnect the corner module
with the adjacent, perpendicularly related, linear modules. This is
effected in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, by utilizing a
corner module having major x-y dimensions exceeding the depth of
the linear modules and one of whose corners is recessed at 26 to
lie flush with each adjacent linear module. This construction
results in spacing the adjacent corners of linear modules 14 and 18
while defining a smooth merger of their front surfaces at the
inside corner 28 of the corner module recess 26 with the
concomitant result of spacing the juncture planes between modules
14 and 18 and corner module 12 along the length of the modular
front wall. This permits an elongate connector to be inserted
end-wise between each of modules 12, 14, and 12, 18 as will be more
fully explained in the ensuing description of FIG. 3.
The linear modules 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 are desirably of different
widths and preferably are different multiples of a predetermined
unit of length such as one foot, for example. In prototypes built
in accordance with the invention, the storage module has been made
in two versions, one 2 feet wide and one 3 feet wide, the sink and
dishwasher modules were combined as a single module 5 feet wide and
the refrigerator module 3 feet wide. The corner module was made in
three versions, one having a substantially square envelope as
depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2; a right handed version of a rectangular
envelope and a left handed version of a rectangular envelope. With
eight modules, a large number of kitchens may be assembled in
various designs to fit rooms of any size.
As previously explained the envelope defined by intersecting
vertical planes containing the base portion of corner module 12 has
x-y dimensions exceeding the depth of the linear modules although a
visual inspection of the assembled modular array would appear to
indicate that all modules are of the same depth. The particular
relationship of the corner module to the adjacent linear modules as
well as the manner in which portions of each module are recessed
along their back walls to form a composite raceway for the receipt
of plumbing and wiring will become apparent from an inspection of
FIG. 2. The vertically standing envelope bounding corner module 12
is defined by the vertical planes 30 lying along the inside of
kitchen walls 32 and the intersecting vertical planes 34 which, in
the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, exhibits a square cross-section. The
base portion 36 of corner module 12 has mutually perpendicular,
nonintersecting side walls 38, 40 adapted to abut the corresponding
side walls of adjacent modules 18, 14. The depth of each linear
module is equal to the spacing between the mutually perpendicular
vertical planes 42, 44 which lie parallel to kitchen walls 32 and
vertical planes 30. The corner module recess 26 is defined by
mutually perpendicular walls 46, 48 which are respectively coplanar
with the front walls of adjacent modules 14, and 18 and thus lie
along planes 42, 44 respectively. It will, of course, be apparent
that recess 26 could be defined by a single arcuate wall merging
with planes 42, 44 rather than the mutually perpendicular walls 46,
48 merging the planes at corner 28. A highly important factor is
that the planes of abutment between corner module 12 and each of
modules 14, 18 are spaced sufficiently to permit the end-wise
insertion of a connector along each plane of abutment which are
those planes containing the sides 38, 40 of corner module 12.
Corner base portion 36 includes an upper horizontal wall 50 which
is coplanar with the corresponding components of the remaining
modules, except for the refrigerator module, and which is rabbeted
to interfit with similarly configured upper walls on the adjacent
modules. In order to insure a positive interconnection between
modules, each is recessed along a side wall thereof adapted to abut
an adjacent module. Thus, the corner module is recessed at 52, 54
along mutually perpendicular sides 38, 40 while each of the linear
modules are recessed along opposite side walls. Exemplary of the
latter is the recess 56 shown along side 58 of storage module 14 in
FIGS. 3 and 4. A pair of non-aligned abutments 60 are secured to
the various modules in each recess 52, 54, 56 which lie on opposite
sides of a plane passing between the abutted side walls of adjacent
modules when the same are assembled as in FIG. 4. Following the
abutment of adjacent sides, such as the side 40 of corner module 12
and the side 58 of storage module 14 for example, an elongate
channel connector 62 is inserted into the composite opening defined
by the justaposition of recesses 52, 56 (FIG. 4) to embrace the
spaced abutment pairs 60 and secure the units together. It will be
apparent from FIG. 2 that after the first connector 62 has been
inserted into recess 52 and the adjacent recess 56 on storage
module 14, a second connector 62 may be inserted into recess 54
lying along side 40 of the corner module to join the same to sink
module 18. The remaining linear modules may then be interconnected
in a similar manner although a separate connector may not be
required for the refrigerator module.
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, corner module 12 also includes an
upper cabinet 64 having perpendicular back walls 66, 68 lying in
the perpendicular planes 30 defined by the back walls of the
remaining modules or by the kitchen walls 32. In conjunction with a
pair of spaced support columns 70 and a back panel 72, the back
walls 74, 76 of base portion 36 extend upwardly to support upper
cabinet 64. Each of the back walls of each module base portion is
recessed along a lower portion thereof to create a raceway 78
extending behind all of the modules except the refrigerator for the
receipt of plumbing and wiring connections. An elevational view of
the raceway is best seen in FIG. 6 while a plan view of the same
appears in FIGS. 2 and 5.
The upper cabinet 64 of corner module 12 may include a lazy susan
80 mounted for rotation about an axis 82 and carrying facers 84, 86
thereon for rotation therewith. Cabinet 64 may also include
suitable shelving closed by doors 88, 90 which are moveable to an
open position generally parallel to base sides 38, 40, respectively
and thus do not project beyond the vertical planes 34 defining the
outer envelope of corner module 12.
Storage module 14 also includes an upper cabinet 92 spaced above
and supported on the base of module 14 by columns 94, 96 and back
panel 98 in substantially the same fashion as described in
connection with the corner module. Cabinet 92 fronts along a
vertical plane 100 which is the common frontage plane for all of
the upper cabinet structures backing on the right hand kitchen
wall, as viewed in FIG. 1, as will be apparent from the
illustration of plane 100 in FIG. 2. Similarly, the remaining upper
cabinets backing on the left hand kitchen wall, except for the
cabinet structure mounted atop the refrigerator module, front on a
common plane 102. It will be noted that the columns, such as 70,
94, 96, supporting the upper cabinets are spaced inwardly of the
base side walls while the cabinet side walls are coplanar with the
corresponding base side walls. The counter top 50 of each module
includes a raised shelf portion extending between said parallel
side walls at the rearward extremity of said counter top, upon
which rest columns such as 70, 94, 96, said shelf portion being
adapted to receive articles placed thereon, thereby maintaining
said articles elevated above said counter top so that liquids
spilled on said counter top do not flow into contact with the
articles. Exemplary is the showing in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein one
side wall 104 of upper cabinet 64 is coplanar with side wall 40 of
base portion 36 and the column 70 is spaced inwardly therefrom to
form a generally channel shaped section which, when modules 12 and
14 are abutted, cooperates with a similar channel shaped portion on
module 14 to define an opening of rectangular cross-section for the
receipt of desired electrical connectors such as electrical
outlets, switches or the like. Such an assembly is illustrated in
FIG. 6 wherein an escutcheon 106 overlaps two adjacent columns to
support one or more electrical distributors 108 supplied by wiring
110 communicating with the electrical network in raceway 78. A
front view of a double electrical outlet mounted on an escutcheon
112 between spaced columns 114 appears in FIG. 1.
It is highly desirable to install the electrical wiring networks,
such as exemplified by wiring 110 in FIG. 6, for the receptacles
108 and the like before the various modules are finally positioned
against kitchen walls 32. This for the reason that the electrician
would require access and egress relative to the back sides of the
modules. To this end, the wiring 110 may comprise separable
segments looped around the back of each module with the ends
projecting through the cavity halves, formed by the inwardly spaced
columns, on each side of each module. When the module is moved
against a kitchen wall 32, the ends of the wiring 110 are
accessible through the receptacle openings formed by adjacent
modules. The ends of the wiring 110 may then be connected to the
various distributors from the exposed front of the array 10.
Alternatively, wiring 110 may comprise a pre-assembled network or
harness having the various receptacles, such as 108 in FIG. 6,
spaced therealong with sufficient slack in the wiring to allow the
receptacles to project through the cavity half defined by the
individual module being installed.
It will be apparent that the channel shaped cavity parts for the
electrical receptacles provided by each unit are mirror images
thereby making the modules symmetrical. This is not mandatory and
the cavity parts may extend further into one unit than another as
by shifting the columns 70, 94 equally to either side of the
position shown in FIG. 3.
Although the recesses 52, 56 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 as
being formed as an incident of interconnecting the top and side
walls of the base portions by brackets 116 it will be apparent that
the recesses could be formed by grooving, for example, the sides of
the modular base portions.
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated a modified corner
module 118 which may be substituted for that of FIGS. 1-3 to
provide a different modular layout. Corner module 118 differs from
that of FIG. 2 in that the vertical envelope 120 defined thereby is
generally rectangular rather than generally square. In practice,
the corner unit 118 is one unit of width larger than the corner
unit 12 in order to accommodate a kitchen design in which the right
hand side of the modular array needs to be one increment of width
larger to accommodate kitchen walls of different lengths. In some
situations, this can be accomplished by using a three-increment
wide storage module rather than a two increment wide storage module
as represented by module 14. In other situations, the additional
increment of width is desirably obtained by the use of the corner
unit 118. The corner unit 118 comprises a so-called right handed
corner unit since it is wider in the right hand direction than in
the left hand direction. It will be equally apparent that a left
handed corner unit would be used where the left hand wall requires
a greater number of incremental units to "piece out" a full wall
coverage.
The sink module 18, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, comprises a lower
base portion 122, the usual upstanding columns 114 and back panel
124 supporting an upper cabinet 126 thereabove. The profile of the
sink module 18 is substantially the same as that of module 14 and
comprises opposed side walls 128, 130, a back wall 132 spaced from
the plane 30 and defining therebetween the raceway 78 and a top
surface 134 having a sink 136 opening therethrough. Doors 138 and
drawers 140, comprising the front of the base portion, front on
plane 44 in the usual fashion.
The utilization of the raceway 78 is illustrated where the plumbing
connections from sink 136 and disposal 142 pass through a partition
144, having a removable gate 146 therein, to connect with water
supply line 148 and drain line 150 positioned in raceway 78. In
practice, the water supply line 148 and the drain line 150 are
installed prior to the positioning of the modules comprising the
array 10. After sink module 18 is moved against wall 32, the gate
146 may be removed providing access to the supply and drain lines
148, 150 so that the necessary connections can be made. The sink
module is preferably delivered to the building site equipped with
drain connections 152, 154, trap 156 and drain extension 158 so
that the only connection made on-site is to connect drain extension
158 to the upstanding part of drain line 150. In similar fashion,
module 18 may be equipped with all necessary water supply lines so
that only simple connections to the hot and cold water supply lines
in raceway 78 are required.
It is of substantial importance that the modular array 10 provide
as large a storage area as possible. In the conventional kitchen
there is no shelving or cabinetry above the sink since access to
the sink would be substantially inhibited if the cabinetry were at
a sufficiently low level to provide ready access. In the module 18,
the sink 136 and cabinet 126 have been so positioned relative to
each other as to provide unobstructed access to the sink and it
will be apparent, from FIG. 1, that the cabinetry above the sink
constitutes a substantial proportion of the total cabinet space in
modular array 10.
The cabinet 126 is substantially the same as the storage module
cabinet 92 and includes opposed side walls coplanar with the base
side walls 128, 130, a bottom wall 160 which cooperates with
columns 114 to form the electrical receiving openings when adjacent
modules are abutted and a back wall 162 backing on plane 30. Doors
168 close the front of the cabinet and lie in plane 102. The
problem presented by cabinetry above the sink is one of headroom.
It is apparent that if the bottom of cabinet 126 were 7 feet above
the floor there would be no headroom obstruction for the usual
housewife; however, there would also be little storage space and
the same would not be readily accessible. It has been determined,
empirically, that the maximum required headroom above a sink is
that which will permit the housewife to position her head directly
above the drain/disposal as in the usual position for placing
materials in the disposal or pouring liquids through the sink
drain.
Although it may appear from a cursory inspection of FIG. 1 that the
planes 100, 102 of the upper cabinets have simply been moved
rearwardly to insure that adequate headroom above the sink is
available such as by making the cabinets of less than a normal
depth; such is not the case as such a design would be self
defeating in minimizing overall cabinet capacity. Basically, what
has been done is that the lower base portion of each module has
been moved forwardly which, concomitantly, creates the raceway 78;
and the sink 136 has been mounted at the extreme forward edge of
the sink module base portion 122 as is readily apparent from FIG.
6. The trace 166 of the sink drain opening thus lies well forward
of plane 102 containing the sink module cabinet doors 168. This
construction, while simple in retrospect, is in sharp contrast to
conventional arrangements wherein the sink supporting cabinet backs
directly on a kitchen wall and the sink, itself, is conventionally
placed well rearwardly of the front wall thereof. In order to
preclude any possibility of headroom blockage by virtue of a
cabinet door 168 being left open, sliding doors may be employed
above the sink to close the cabinets which are at such a level as
to be readily accessible to the normal housewife.
Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the dishwasher module 20
is illustrated as being separate from the sink module; however, it
is normally desirable to construct these units as a single module
to facilitate the maximum number of preliminary plumbing
connections at the factory. The dishwasher and sink modules may, of
course, be reversed in position as desired.
The range module 16 is constructed in accordance with the
principles previously discussed and includes a front surface 170
fronting on plane 42 in common with the remainder of the linear
units installed along the right hand kitchen wall of FIG. 1. The
range is preferably built into its module, which includes the upper
cabinetry 172 fronting on plane 100, prior to on-site delivery.
The refrigerator module 22 differs in several respects from the
remaining modules. Since typical refrigerators are on the order of
about 6 feet high, no surface provided by the module 22 is coplanar
with the working surface provided by the remaining modules. Since
the refrigerator 174 is usually at one end of a kitchen layout and
may be slightly deeper than the remaining modules, it is not
essential that the refrigerator front 176 reside in the plane 44,
although such is desirable. Other differences between the
refrigerator module 22 and the remaining modules will be apparent
as the description proceeds.
The module 22 is illustrated as comprising spaced supports 178, on
opposite sides of the refrigerator 174, having an upper cabinet 180
thereon. The cabinet 180 preferably fronts in a plane defined by
the refrigerator front 176 rather than in the plane 102 to afford
easy access thereto. Since the refrigerator 174 is usually at one
end of the kitchen layout and acts to break the working surface of
a kitchen in any event, this does not present a design
disadvantage. The module 22 may be connected to the adjacent module
20 although this is not essential since the module 22 does not
provide a counter top which, upon shifting of the modules 20, 22
would be distorted.
Although the refrigerator 176 may be connected to the module 22 if
desired, it is convenient to install these components separately at
the site. An electrical receptacle may be provided in either of the
supports 178 for connecting the refrigerator 176 to the wiring 110
or the refrigerator may be connected separately to a source of
power.
Referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a cross-section of
lighting module 24 for illuminating the room in which the array 10
is placed and providing a molding between the array 10 and ceiling
180 of the room. FIG. 7 comprises a cross-section of the range
module 16 which includes the now familiar upper cabinet 172
including a back wall 182 adjacent the kitchen wall 32, the cabinet
front 184 parallel to the back wall 182 and a top wall 186 spaced
from the ceiling 180.
Lighting module 24 comprises a housing 188 including a lower
removable refractor 190 and outwardly facing openings 192 for the
transmission of light from fluorescent tubes 194. The outer
vertical wall of housing 188 extends upwardly toward and terminates
below ceiling 180 to define a gap 196 therebetween. Inasmuch as
dwellings are not built to precise tolerances, the distance between
the floor and ceiling will vary from site to site and since the
free standing modules and the light module are of predetermined
heights, the dimensions of gap 196 will vary at different
construction sites. In order to provide a molding between the array
10, which is of predetermined height, and the ceiling 180, which
will be of variable height, lighting module 24 includes an
adjustable panel 198 to close off the gap 196 by manipulation of
adjustable fasteners 200 received within appropriate slots in panel
198.
In the particular kitchen layout of FIG. 1, the near side of range
module 16 may be covered by a planar panel 202, if desired. The
panel 202 is illustrated as being exposed to exemplify an
arrangement wherein the modular array does not completely "piece
out" or cover the right hand kitchen wall 32 but may fail to extend
completely to the next intersecting kitchen wall by a distance of
something less than the aforementioned unit widths. Since it is
desirable to cover any unsightly assembly structure and the
unfinished kitchen wall, a frangible finishing panel 204 (FIG. 8)
of common height with the various modules is cut or broken at a
desired distance along one of sides 206, 208 to fill in the gap
between the modular array and an intersecting kitchen wall. In the
single case of the refrigerator module being spaced from an
intersecting wall, since the upper cabinetry fronts on plane 44, it
will be unnecessary to cut finishing panel 204 along its length. In
the case of all other end modules, such as the range module, it
will be necessary to cut panel 204 along its length to create a
flush front finish along both of planes 100 and 42 as well as along
the plane defined by the front edge surfaces of the upper cabinet
supporting columns. The appropriately cut panel 204 may then be
secured to the next adjacent module as by the insertion of a
suitable fastener through an adjacent side wall to complete the
kitchen assembly.
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