Hook device for furniture panels

Abstract

The hook device (16) for a furniture panel (15) comprises a base body (17) fixable to a furniture cover panel (15) and at least one engagement element (18) connected to the base body (17) and hookable to a furniture support element (11), said at least one engagement element (18) being movable relative to the base body (17) and drive means (19) being provided for moving said at least one engagement element (18) during an assembly step of the panel (15) on the furniture.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hook device for furniture panels, in particular a hook device suitable for connecting panels of wood or other material to supporting elements of a walk-in closet or furniture in general.

[0002] In the furniture field, walk-in closets or, more generally, furniture structures have been variously proposed to comprise a number of support elements, preferably in the form of profile elements, which are fixed vertically at a distance from one another to the interior walls of a house or shop, and support brackets are fixed to the profile elements for assembling shelves, drawers and other furniture elements, allowing the construction of walk-in closets or highly customized pieces of furniture according to the needs of storage and support of objects and / or clothes.

[0003] This type of walk-in closet also includes cover panels disposed between the profile support elements to cover the walls for aesthetic purposes. [Background technology]

[0004] Conventionally, the cover panel is fixed to the support element by a suitable hook device comprising a base body fixable to the rear side of the cover panel and at least one engagement element connected to the base body and adapted to be hookable onto the contoured support element.

[0005] The engagement element may for example be adapted as one or more protrusions or ribs protruding from the base body for engaging with slits or grooves provided along the support profile element.

[0006] Alternatively, a skull-shaped hook system with engagement undercuts can be used to capture the pin secured to the panel.

[0007] However, problems often arise during the hooking step for hooking the cover panel on the supporting profile element, since due to possible errors when assembling the profile element to the wall and / or assembly errors or the sum of the tolerances of all components of the hooking device on the cover panel, the engaging elements may not be aligned or may not match the slits provided in the supporting element.

[0008] As a result, it is often necessary to reposition and re-fix the hook device on the cover panel in order to be able to accurately hook the panel to the support element, and in either case it is difficult to insert the engaging element into the slit in the profile element.

[0009] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hook device for furniture panels which allows said panels to be assembled simply and safely even in the presence of assembly errors of the wall profile elements and / or of the hook device on the cover panel.

[0010] This can be achieved by a hook device for the furniture panel, which a base body that can be fixed to a cover panel of the furniture; At least one engagement element connected to the base body and hookable to a support element of a piece of furniture; Equipped with the at least one engagement element is movable relative to the base body; providing a drive means for moving said at least one engagement element during an assembly step of said panel on said piece of furniture; It is characterized by:

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

[0012] The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred, but non-limiting, embodiments of a hook arrangement for furniture panels, with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a walk-in closet with a cover panel attached with a hook device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hook device being hidden from view by the cover panel; [Diagram 2] A partial view of the walk-in closet in Figure 1 with the cover panel removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hook device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention attached to the rear side of a cover panel; [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view of the walk-in closet in Figure 1 taken along line 4-4. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hook device according to the present invention; [Figure 6] A plan view of the walk-in closet from Figure 1, in which the various assembly steps of the cover panels on the supporting profile elements are shown in sequence [Figure 7] A plan view of the walk-in closet from Figure 1, in which the various assembly steps of the cover panels on the supporting profile elements are shown in sequence [Figure 8] A plan view of the walk-in closet from Figure 1, in which the various assembly steps of the cover panels on the supporting profile elements are shown in sequence DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The figures show a hook device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which allows for the fastening of copper panels to support items in walk-in closets and general furniture.

[0015] This type of walk-in closet, generally designated by the reference number 10, mainly comprises a number of support elements, preferably adapted as profile elements 11, which are fixed vertically to a wall or support structure 12 in a house or shop by suitable fastening devices that will not be described in detail, although it is not excluded that the support elements are general furniture structural elements, for example corner elements constituting the furniture structure.

[0016] Support brackets 13 are then secured to the support or profile elements 11 for mounting shelves 14, drawers and other furniture elements to create a walk-in closet that is highly customized according to the storage and support needs of items and / or clothing.

[0017] This type of walk-in closet 10 also comprises cover panels 15 arranged between the support elements 11 to cover the walls 12 for aesthetic purposes.

[0018] The cover panel 15 is fixed to the support element 11 by means of a hook device 16. The hook device 16 comprises a base body 17 which can be fixed to the rear side of the cover panel 15 and at least one engagement element 18 which is connected to the base body 17 and adapted to be hookable to the support profile 11.

[0019] According to the invention, the at least one engagement element 18 is movable relative to the base body 17 and drive means 19 are provided for moving the at least one engagement element 18 relative to the base body 17 during an assembly step for assembling the panel 15 on the furniture.

[0020] Preferably, for the purpose of relative movement between the at least one engaging element 18 and the base body 17, the at least one engaging element 18 is provided on a slider 20 movably supported by said base body 17 or on a separate body, or the at least one engaging element can be realized rigidly with the base body, but may also be connected to the base body, for example by an elastically deformable part, and in either case is connected to the base body by a connecting element which allows relative movement between the at least one engaging element and the base body.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment in which at least one engagement element 18 is provided on the slider 20 or separately, drive means 19 for moving the at least one engagement element are also provided on the slider 20 or separately, for moving said cursor 20 and thus the at least one engagement element 18 during the assembly step.

[0022] On the other hand, if the at least one engagement element is firmly realised with the base body, the drive means for moving the at least one engagement element may be provided on or directly connected to the at least one engagement element, e.g. adapted as a drive surface, or may consist of a separate component movably mounted on the base body and adapted to act on the at least one engagement element in order to move the at least one engagement element.

[0023] Generally, at least one engagement element 18 is adapted, for example, as one or more protrusions or teeth, or one or more ribs, protruding from the slider 20 or protruding relative to the base body 17, and can engage with a slit or groove 21 provided along the support profile element 11.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment in which the at least one engagement element 18 is provided on the slider 20, the drive means 19 comprises at least one drive element 19 having an inclined or wedge-shaped surface adapted and arranged to contact a part of the profile element 11 during the assembly step of the panel 15, thereby causing a lateral movement of the at least one engagement element 18, preferably along a plane parallel to the plane in which the panel 15 is located, so that the at least one engagement element 18 is brought into a slit or groove 21 of the profile element 11, thus enabling a simple and accurate hooking of the at least one engagement element 18 in said slit or groove 21.

[0025] Preferably, the drive means 19 comprises a first drive element 19 and a second drive element 19 arranged spaced apart from each other on the slider 20 along the longitudinal extension axis of said slider 20 .

[0026] Instead of an inclined or wedge-shaped surface, the at least one drive element 19 may also have a contoured or cammed surface so as to move the at least one engagement element 18 with a certain law of motion.

[0027] At least one engagement element 18 is preferably movable between an initial forward position in which it is positioned near the side edge of the panel 15 to which the hook device 16 is attached, and a rearward position in which it is moved inside the panel 15.

[0028] The mutual arrangement of the engagement element 18 and the drive element 19 is determined depending on the shape of the support profile element 11 and the arrangement of the slits or grooves 21 in said support profile element 11. Preferably, the engagement element 18 and the drive element 19 are arranged at a distance from each other in the movement direction of the engagement element 18, the engagement element 18 being arranged forward with respect to the drive element 19, in which case the inclined surface of the drive element 19 converges obliquely towards the engagement element 18.

[0029] Preferably, the hook device 16 comprises a resilient return means adapted and arranged to bias the at least one engagement element towards an initial forward position, whereby when the panel 15 is disassembled, the at least one engagement element 18 always returns to said forward position.

[0030] When at least one engagement element 18 is provided on the slider 20, the return elastic means preferably comprises a return spring 22 interposed between the base body 17 and the slider 20, and in a preferred embodiment, two return springs 22 are provided in the form of two tabs or elastic arms which are firmly implemented with the slider 20 and protrude from one side of the slider 20 to contact the side wall 23 of the base body 17.

[0031] Preferably, the base body 17 has a flat shape and, in the assembled state, extends parallel to the plane in which the cover panel 15 on which the device is attached is located, and if a slider 20 is provided, the slider 20 also preferably has a flat shape and extends parallel to the base body 17.

[0032] Preferably, the base body 17 is formed by two flat half-shells 17', 17" which are connected to each other by hook means and / or screws or other hook means, in which case the slider 20 is interposed between the two half-shells 17', 17" in a suitable housing space defined between the two half-shells 17', 17".

[0033] The hook devices 16 are inserted into holes 25, 26 in the half shells 17', 17" of the base body 17 and can be secured to the rear side of the cover panel 15 along its side edges by screws 24 or other fastening means that can engage the material of the panel 15.

[0034] In order to allow the installation of cover panels 15 having different thicknesses, special spacer elements or shims can be interposed between each hook device 16 and the cover panel 15, thereby allowing the position of the front surface of the cover panel 15 to be changed relative to the profile element 11.

[0035] 6 to 8 show the steps for assembling the cover panel 15 using the hook device 16 according to the present invention.

[0036] In particular, in FIG. 6, when the cover panel 15 approaches the profile element 11, if at least one engaging element 18 is not correctly positioned in the relative connecting slit 21 provided in the profile element 11, at least one driving element 19 will contact a part of the profile element 11 and be pushed sideways, causing the slider 20 to slide parallel to the base body 17 until at least one engaging element 18 comes into the corresponding connecting slit 21, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0037] In this position, as shown in FIG. 8, at least one engagement element 18 can engage with the corresponding interlocking slit 21 to hook the cover panel 15 to the profile element 11 .

[0038] From the above it is clear that the hook device for a furniture cover panel according to the invention achieves the aforementioned object, since said panel can be attached simply and safely even in the presence of errors and assembly tolerances of the wall profile elements and / or errors and assembly tolerances of the hook device on the cover panel.

[0039] However, the hook device according to the invention is susceptible of modifications and variations within the scope of the inventive concept, and in addition components can be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. A hook device (16) for a furniture panel (15), comprising: a base body (17) that can be fixed to a cover panel (15) of the furniture; At least one engagement element (18) connected to the base body (17) and capable of hooking to a support element (11) of a piece of furniture; Equipped with The at least one engagement element (18) is movable relative to the base body (17); a drive means (19) for moving said at least one engagement element (18) during an assembly step of said panel (15) on said piece of furniture, Characterized in that Hook device (16).

2. A slider (20) or a separate body movably supported by the base body (17), The at least one engagement element (18) is disposed on the slider (20) and on the separate body. Characterized in that The hook device (16) of claim 1.

3. characterised in that the at least one engagement element is connected to the base body (17) by elastically deformable parts or connecting elements which are realised rigidly with the base body (17) and allow a relative movement between the at least one engagement element (18) and the base body (17). The hook device (16) of claim 1.

4. characterised in that the drive means (19) for moving the at least one engagement element (18) are provided on the slider (20) or on the separate body, The hook device (16) of claim 2.

5. characterised in that the drive means for moving the at least one engagement element (18) is provided on the at least one engagement element (18) or is directly connected to the at least one engagement element (18), A hook device (16) according to claim 3.

6. said at least one engagement element (18) being adapted as one or more protrusions or teeth or one or more ribs protruding relative to said base body (17) for engaging with a slit or groove (21) provided along said support element (11); A hook device (16) according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. said actuation means (19) comprising at least one actuation element (19) having an inclined or wedge-shaped surface adapted and arranged to come into contact with a portion of the support element (11) during the assembly step of said panel (15) and causing a lateral movement of said at least one engagement element (18), A hook device (16) according to any one of claims 2, 4 and 6.

8. comprising resilient return means adapted and arranged to bias said at least one engagement element (18) towards an initial forward position located near a side edge of said cover panel (15), A hook device (16) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. characterised in that said base body (17) is preferably of flat shape and is formed by two half shells (17', 17") joined together by hook means and / or screws or other hook means, A hook device (16) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. characterised in that a spacer or shim is provided between each hook device (16) and said cover panel (15) in order to accommodate cover panels (15) having different thicknesses. A hook device (16) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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