Joint pieces and rectangular joint structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for joining two panels at right angles, such as in furniture construction, often require complex and labor-intensive hole drilling operations and result in visible fasteners, making disassembly difficult and assembly cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A joint piece with a circular or polygonal base and a protruding headed stud, where the stud's neck and head are inserted into recesses and keyhole slots in adjacent panels, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly without visible fasteners, using CNC milling to create the necessary recesses and slots from one side of the panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional screw or nail connections are used to join panels at right angles, then the joint strength is adequate, but the fasteners are visible and disassembly is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The joint is divided into separate components: a joint piece with a base embedded in one panel and a headed stud protruding to engage with the other panel. This segmentation allows the fastening function to be separated from visible surfaces, enabling easy disassembly by simply pulling the panels apart while maintaining joint strength through the distributed base area and engaged stud configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint piece acts as an intermediary component between the two panels. The base portion is embedded in the first panel while the headed stud engages with the second panel, creating a hidden connection mechanism that eliminates visible fasteners and allows for easy assembly and disassembly without complex threading or fastening operations.
2Strength
If multiple hole drilling operations are performed to create recesses and slots for joint pieces, then the joint connection strength is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple hole drilling operations are merged into a single CNC milling process that creates both the recess for the joint piece base and the slot for the headed stud in one continuous operation. This combining of operations maintains the structural strength provided by embedded joint pieces while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and labor intensity by eliminating sequential drilling steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The recesses and slots are pre-formed using CNC milling before assembly, allowing the joint pieces to be simply inserted and engaged without requiring complex fastening operations during assembly. This preliminary preparation of receiving features maintains strong joint connections while simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
A joint piece and jointing system using that joint piece are described. The invention is of particular value in making furniture which can be easily assembled and where the joints formed by joint pieces are visible only on the exterior of right-angled corners on one side of the exterior corner. Each joint piece (7) consists of a base having a protruding collar with a head. The base is circular or polygonal and fits into a recess made on one side of one of the panels (5) to be joined. Once fitted, the protruding collar and head fit into keyhole-shaped slots formed on the adjacent panel (6). An advantage of this jointing system is that the panels (5, 6) to be joined may all be produced by CNC milling from one side of a large original sheet of material, e.g. of wood or high density fibreboard.