Fastening device for fastening profile elements of walk-in closets and furniture in general to supporting walls

Abstract

A fastening device (15) for fastening a profile element (11) of a walk-in closet (10), and of furniture in general, to a supporting wall (12) comprises a base body (16) fastenable to the supporting wall (12) and a connecting member (17) adjustably fastened to said base body (16) and connectable to a profile element (11) of a walk-in closet (10). The fastening device (15) comprises a retaining device (23, 31, 32) adapted and arranged to hold said fastening device (15) along said profile element (11).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for fastening profile elements of walk-in closets and furniture in general to supporting walls, in particular a device for walk-in closets of the kind which have panels between the profile elements. [Background technology]

[0002] In the furniture field, various walk-in closets, or more generally, furniture structures have been proposed that comprise a number of profile elements that are vertically fixed to a wall or support structure of a home or store, and then support brackets are fixed to the profile elements to assemble shelves, drawers and other furniture elements, thereby constructing a walk-in closet or a highly customized piece of furniture depending on the needs for storing and supporting items and / or clothes.

[0003] These walk-in closets and furniture structures are of two types, specifically the first type has panels placed between the contour elements to cover the walls or supporting structure for aesthetic purposes, and the second type does not have panels, leaving the walls or supporting structure visible along with the contour elements.

[0004] The profile elements are generally fixed to the support wall by fastening devices, which conventionally comprise a base body and a connecting member that is adjustably connectable to said base body, for example by means of a screw. The base body can be fixed to the support wall by means of the screw, while the connecting member can be slidably engaged in opposing longitudinal grooves on the rear surface of the profile element, so that each fastening device can be appropriately positioned along the profile element.

[0005] However, conventional fastening devices, especially for the first type of walk-in closet described above, present difficulties during the assembly of the walk-in closet, because the fastening devices are not kept in the correct position along the profile elements when they are placed in a vertical position for fastening to the supporting wall, but they can slide downwards, requiring manual repositioning of the fastening devices along the profile elements before fastening them to the supporting wall with screws.

[0006] Furthermore, the fastening devices can rotate relative to the profile elements, which further requires manual orientation of the fastening devices in order to make the holes in the base body accessible to the fastening screws. This rotation prevents these elements from moving relative to the profile when they are not fixed to the wall. To make the adjustment, it is first necessary to fasten the elements to the wall and then turn the adjustment screw. When assembling a closet, it is often necessary to set the correction (the distance between the fastening device and the profile element) before fastening the fastening device to the wall. Although theoretically possible with current systems, during assembly, it may be necessary to manually hold the individual fastening devices so that they do not rotate and slide along the profile. This is not possible in practice and may require multiple installers, each of whom holds the fastening device in place before fastening it to the wall.

[0007] There is therefore a need for a fastening device that allows for easy assembly of a walk-in closet, with particular reference to the correct position and orientation of said fastening device in the profile elements.

[0008] The subject of the invention therefore provides a fastening device for fastening profile elements of walk-in closets, and furniture in general, to a supporting wall, which is stably positioned along the profile element and allows simplifying the fastening of said profile element to the supporting wall.

[0009] A further object of the invention is to provide a device for fastening a profile element of the type in question, which maintains a correct orientation when connected to said profile element.

[0010] The above can be achieved by means of a device for fastening profile elements of walk-in closets and furniture in general to supporting walls, The fixing device is A base body that can be fixed to a support wall; A connecting member is adjustably fixed to the base body and is connectable with a profile element of a walk-in closet; Equipped with The fastening device is characterized by having a retaining device adapted and arranged to retain the fastening device along the profile element.

[0011] Further features of the invention are defined in the claims.

[0012] The features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of two preferred, non-exclusive embodiments of a fixation device, with reference to the attached drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a walk-in closet assembled with a fastening device according to a first embodiment of the invention, the fastening device being hidden by a cover panel provided between the profile elements and therefore not visible. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastening device according to a first embodiment of the invention attached to a profile element; [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fixation device of FIG. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view of the fixing device taken along line AA in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fastening device according to a second embodiment of the invention attached to a profile element; [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the fixing device of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] 1 to 4 show a fastening device according to a first embodiment of the invention, which allows fastening profile elements of walk-in closets and furniture in general.

[0015] The fastening device according to the invention is particularly suitable for the assembly of walk-in closets in which cover panels are provided between the profile elements with the supporting walls hidden from view, as shown, for example, in FIG. 1, but it is not excluded that the fastening device can also be used for other types of walk-in closets or furniture.

[0016] As will be explained below, this type of walk-in closet is generally designated by the numeral 10 and typically includes a number of profile elements 11 which are vertically fixed to a wall or support structure 12 within a residence or shop by fastening devices according to the invention, each profile element 11 being fixed to the support wall 12 by at least two fastening devices, and support brackets 13 for the assembly of shelves 14, drawers and other furniture elements are in turn fixed to the profile elements 11, thereby allowing the creation of highly customized walk-in closets according to the storage and support needs of objects and / or clothes.

[0017] As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the fixing device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 15 and comprises a base body 16 which can be fixed to the supporting wall 12, and a connecting member 17 which is adjustably fixed to the base body 16 and which can engage with the profile element 11 of the walk-in closet 10.

[0018] For the purpose of engaging the connecting member 17 with the profile element 11, the connecting member 17 preferably has an enlarged head 17' which is slidably engageable between two opposing grooves 18 formed on the rear side of said profile element 11, in particular the head 17' is engageable between the opposing grooves 18 starting from one end of the profile element 11, after which it slides along said profile element 11 until the head 17' and thus the entire fastening device 15 is placed in a longitudinal position.

[0019] Preferably, the connecting members 17 are each adjustably connected to the base body 16 by threaded means, for example, the connecting members 17 preferably include a threaded shank 17'' extending from a head 17' which is adjustably engageable with a threaded hole 19 provided in the base body 16.

[0020] In order to control the rotation and thus the adjustment of the connecting member 17, the head 17' has a hole 20 formed so that a tool can be inserted to rotate said connecting member 17, which in the mounted state allows access to the head 17' for insertion through a front slot 21 in the profile element 11 and through a series of holes 22 arranged longitudinally spaced from one another in the profile element 11, between the front slot 21 and the opposing groove 18 on the rear side of the profile element 11.

[0021] According to the invention, the fastening device 15 also comprises a retaining device adapted and arranged to retain the fastening device along the profile element.

[0022] Preferably, the retaining device comprises at least one movable retaining element biased for engagement with a portion of the profile element 11 .

[0023] As shown in embodiment 1, the holding device comprises a holding element, which is elastically bendable and therefore movable, conforming as a leaf spring 23 of metal or other suitable material, and arranged on the side of the base body 16 facing the profile element 11, so that in the installed state it is interposed between the base body 16 and said profile element 11.

[0024] Preferably, the leaf spring 23 has a central portion 23' fixable to the base body 16 and at least one movable elastic arm 23", preferably the leaf spring 23 has two movable elastic arms 23" extending in opposite directions from the central portion 23' and arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis along which the profile element 11 extends.

[0025] The fixing of the leaf spring 23 to the base body 16 is preferably performed by means of a connecting member 17, in particular a central portion 23' having a hole 24 through which the threaded shank 17" of the connecting member 17 passes, whereby the leaf spring 23 is held by the head 17' of the connecting member 17.

[0026] When each fastening device 15 is connected with the profile element 11, as mentioned above, the elastic arm 23" of the leaf spring 23 interposed between the base body 16 of the device 15 and the profile element 11 is pressed and elastically deformed against the back surface 25 of the profile element 11 in order to generate a frictional holding force that keeps the fastening device 15 in place along the profile element 11; thus, in this case, the elastic arm 23" of the holding element 23 is biased to engage with the profile element 11 by elastic bending of the same arm 23".

[0027] Preferably, the leaf spring 23 has an omega shape, with arms 23'' extending towards the profile element 11 and contacting the rear surface of the profile element 11. However, this does not exclude that the leaf spring can have a different shape, for example a U-shape.

[0028] Preferably, the fixing device 15 also comprises at least one anti-rotation guide element 26 extending from the base body 16 for longitudinal movement and / or sliding along the opposite side walls 27 of the profile element 11, thereby preventing rotation of the fixing device 15 relative to the profile element 11, preferably the fixing device 15 comprises two guide elements 26 extending parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other from the base body 16 so as to surround the side walls 27 of the profile element 11. In the absence of the guide element 26, the base body 16 would rotate together with the screw 17 and therefore there would be no relative movement along the screw axis between the device 15 and the profile element 11.

[0029] To secure the fixing device 15 to the support wall 12, the base body 16 preferably includes a plurality of flanges 28 extending laterally from the base body 16, each having a hole 29 adapted as a slot for adjustably inserting a respective screw 30 engageable in the support wall 12.

[0030] 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of a fastening device according to the invention, with the same reference numbers used to indicate similar or equivalent parts.

[0031] Also in this case, the fixing device 15 comprises a base body 16 which can be fixed to the supporting wall 12 and a connecting member 17 which is adjustably fixed to the base body 16 and which can engage with the profile element 11 of the walk-in closet 10.

[0032] The connecting member 17 preferably has an enlarged head 17 ′ slidably engageable between two opposing grooves 18 obtained in the rear face of said profile element 11 .

[0033] The fixing device 15 also comprises a retaining device adapted and arranged to hold the fixing device along the profile element, the retaining device preferably comprising at least one resiliently bendable retaining element engageable with a portion of the profile element 11.

[0034] In embodiment 2, the retaining device preferably comprises at least one first and second elastically flexible retaining elements 31, 32 extending substantially parallel from the base body 16 and spaced apart from each other for engaging with and / or surrounding opposing side walls 27 of the profile element 11.

[0035] The holding elements 31, 32 are adapted as elastic arms, for example made from an elastically bending metal or plastic material, which extend from a central body 33 of the holding device which can be fixed to the base body 16 of the fixing device 15, for example by means of a hook.

[0036] In this embodiment, the fixing device 15 preferably also comprises at least one anti-rotation guide element 26, e.g., two guide elements 26, extending from the base body 16 for longitudinal movement and / or sliding along opposing side walls 27 of the profile element 11, thereby preventing rotation of the fixing device 15 relative to the profile element 11.

[0037] Alternatively, it is not generally excluded that the holding device may comprise at least one holding element which is movably connected to the base body of the fastening device and which is biased by separate elastic or biasing means to engage or act on the profile element. For example, in order to hold the fastening device, the at least one holding element can be adapted as a slidingly supported slider or as an arm which is swingably supported by the base body and which is pressed against the profile element by a biasing means.

[0038] From the above, it is clear that the fastening device according to the invention achieves the aforementioned object and, when the profile element is positioned vertically for the assembly of the walk-in closet, once positioned in the desired position along the profile element it stably maintains said position, thus making the fastening of said profile element to the supporting wall simple.

[0039] Furthermore, the fastening device of the present invention provides a one-time connection to the profile element and maintains the correct orientation.

[0040] However, the fixation device according to the invention is susceptible to modifications and variations within the scope of the inventive concept, and furthermore construction details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. A fastening device (15) for fastening profile elements (11) of walk-in closets (10) and furniture in general, comprising: a base body (16) that can be fixed to the support wall (12); a connecting member (17) connectable to the profile element (11) of the walk-in closet (10) and adjustably fixed to the base body (16); Equipped with characterised in that it comprises a retaining device (23, 31, 32) adapted and arranged to retain the fixing device (15) along the profile element (11), Fixation device (15).

2. characterised in that the holding device comprises at least one movable holding element biased to be engageable with a portion of the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 1.

3. characterised in that the holding device comprises a holding element adapted as a leaf spring (23) arranged on the side of the base body (16) to face towards the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 2.

4. the leaf spring (23) comprises a central portion (23') fixable to the base body (16) and at least one movable elastic arm (23"), preferably comprising first and second movable elastic arms (23") extending on opposite sides of the central portion (23') and arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis along which the profile element (11) extends; A fixing device (15) according to claim 3.

5. the at least one movable elastic arm (23") of the leaf spring (23) is movable and elastically deformed relative to the profile (11) in order to generate a frictional holding force when the fixing device (15) is attached to the profile (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 4.

6. characterised in that the leaf spring (23) has an omega shape and the at least one movable arm (23") extends towards the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 4.

7. characterised in that the retaining device comprises at least one first and one second elastically bendable retaining element (31, 32) extending substantially parallel from the base body (16) and spaced apart from one another for engaging with and / or surrounding opposite side walls (27) of the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 2.

8. characterised in that the at least one first and second elastically bendable holding element (31, 32) are adapted as elastic arms made of an elastically bendable material. A fixing device (15) according to claim 7.

9. characterized in that it comprises at least one anti-rotation guide element (26) extending from the base body (16) for longitudinal movement and / or sliding along the side wall (27) of the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. the retaining device comprises at least one retaining element movably connected to the base body (16) of the fixing device and biased by a separate elastic or magnetic biasing means engageable with the profile element (11), A fixing device (15) according to claim 2.

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