US20080042532A1 - Cabinet system and method of assembling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A front panel, a pair of side panels, a top panel, and a bottom panel connect to form a cabinet. Optionally, the cabinet includes a rear panel. Front panel includes a pair of master keyways and a pair of grooves. Each of side panels has a side key, a pair of side keyways, and a side notch. Each side key connects with one master keyway. Top panel includes a pair of top keys and a top extender. Each top key connects with one side keyway and top extender connects with one groove. Bottom panel includes a pair of bottom keys and a bottom extender. Each bottom key connects with one side keyway and the bottom extender connects with the other groove.

Description

• The present disclosure relates to a cabinet system used in kitchens or furniture design. Specifically, the present disclosure includes a front panel, a pair of side panels, a top panel, and a bottom panel that fit together to form a cabinet. Optionally, the cabinet can include a back panel or a rear panel.
• Several techniques and systems have been developed for manufacturing and assembling cabinets. In a typical system, cabinet components are assembled using mechanical fasteners. In this type of system, often a skilled carpenter is required to assemble the cabinets, either in the manufacturing facility or at the final site of installation, for example a kitchen. The cabinets that are assembled in the manufacturing facility can be shipped in the assembled form to the final destination; however, this often requires large amounts of packing materials and shipping costs to do so. Unassembled cabinets can be shipped to the final destination, assembled, and installed at the final site of installation. However, these unassembled cabinets often require a skilled carpenter to assemble the cabinets which requires the homeowner to pay an additional cost of the carpenter to assemble and install the cabinets.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cabinet device shown being assembled.
• FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of one embodiment of a cabinet device.
• FIG. 3 is a front view of one embodiment of a front panel.
• FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 3, taken along lines4-4 inFIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 3, taken along lines5-5 inFIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 6 is a front view of one embodiment of a right side panel.
• FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 6, taken along lines7-7 inFIG. 6 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 6, taken along lines8-8 inFIG. 6 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 9 is a front view of another embodiment of a left side panel.
• FIG. 10 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 9, taken along lines10-10 inFIG. 9 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 9, taken along lines11-11 inFIG. 9 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 12 is a front view of one embodiment of a top panel.
• FIG. 13 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 12, taken along lines13-13 inFIG. 12 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 14 is a rear view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 12.
• FIG. 15 is a front view of one embodiment of a bottom panel.
• FIG. 16 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 15, taken along lines16-16 inFIG. 15 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 17 is a rear view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 15.
• FIG. 18 is a front view of one embodiment of a rear panel.
• FIG. 19 is an end elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 18, taken along lines19-19 inFIG. 18 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
• FIG. 20 is a side elevational view of the embodiment depicted inFIG. 17, taken along lines20-20 inFIG. 18 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
• For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the claims is thereby intended. Any such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and any such further applications of the principles as illustrated herein, are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.
• Referring generally to the figures, there are shown embodiments of acabinet device20. In the illustrated embodiment inFIG. 1,device20 includes afront panel22, aright side panel24, aleft side panel26, atop panel28, and abottom panel30. Optionally,cabinet device20 includes arear panel32. Front panel22 (FIG. 2), right side panel24 (FIG. 6), left side panel26 (FIG. 9), top panel28 (FIG. 11), bottom panel30 (FIG. 14), and rear panel32 (FIG. 17) can be made of various materials such as wood, metal, plastic, or a combination of materials.
• In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 3,front panel22 includes anupper portion34, an oppositelower portion36, and a pair ofside portions38. As illustrated,front panel22 is a rectangular shape; however, in otherembodiments front panel22 can be a square, trapezoid, oval, or otherwise configured. Each ofside portions38 defines amaster keyway40. As illustrated inFIG. 4,master keyway40 has an L-shape.Upper portion34 andlower portion36 each contain agroove42. Groove42 is rectangular in shape as illustrated inFIG. 5; however, in other embodiments,groove42 can be shaped differently such as oval, triangular, polygonal, or otherwise configured. Optionally,front panel22 defines anopening44.Opening44 is a rectangular shape; however, in other embodiments, opening44 is square or otherwise configured.
• In the illustrated embodiment inFIGS. 6 and 7,right side panel24 includes anupper portion50, alower portion52, afirst side portion54, and asecond side portion56.Right side panel24 is rectangular in shape; however, in other embodimentsright side panel24 can be a square, trapezoid, or otherwise configured.Upper portion50 andlower portion52 each define aside keyway58.Side keyway58 has an L shape as illustrated inFIG. 8. In one embodiment, master keyway40 (FIG. 4) and side keyway58 (FIG. 8) have substantially similar shapes and dimensions.First side portion54 includes aside key60.Side key60 is rectangular in shape. In other forms,side key60 can be shaped differently such as circular, triangular, polygonal, or otherwise configured. In one form, side key60 (FIG. 7) and groove42 (FIG. 5) have substantially similar shapes and dimensions.Second side portion56 includes aside notch62.Side notch62 is rectangular in shape. In other embodiments,side notch62 is triangular, polygonal, or otherwise shaped.
• FIGS. 9 and 10 show an illustrated embodiment ofleft side panel26. In the illustrated embodiment,left side panel26 is similar toright side panel24. In other forms,left side panel26 can be different thanright side panel24.Left side panel26 includes anupper portion70, alower portion72, afirst side portion74, and asecond side portion76.Left side panel26 is rectangular in shape in the illustrated embodiment. In other embodimentsleft side panel26 can be square, trapezoid, or another shape.Upper portion70 andlower portion72 each define aside keyway78. As illustrated inFIG. 11,side keyway78 has an L shape. In one embodiment, master keyway40 (FIG. 4) and side keyway78 (FIG. 11) have substantially similar shapes and dimensions. In another embodiment, master keyway40 (FIG. 4), side keyway58 (FIG. 8), and side keyway78 (FIG. 11) have similar shapes and dimensions.First side portion74 includes aside key80.Side key80 is rectangular in shape. In other forms, side key80 can be shaped differently such as circular, triangular, polygonal, or otherwise configured. In one form, side key80 (FIG. 10) and groove42 (FIG. 5) have substantially similar shapes and dimensions. In another form, side key80, side key60 (FIG. 7), and groove42 (FIG. 5) have similar shapes and dimensions.
• In the illustrated embodiment inFIGS. 12,13, and14,top panel28 includes anupper portion90, alower portion92, afirst side portion94, and asecond side portion96.Top panel28 is rectangular in shape; however, in other embodimentstop panel28 can be a square, trapezoid, or otherwise configured.Lower portion92 includes atop extender98.Top extender98 is substantially rectangular in shape with a pair of curved edges. In one form,top extender98 is sized to fit within groove42 (seeFIGS. 3 and 5) offront panel22 as discussed below. Bothfirst side portion94 andsecond side portion96 include atop key100.Top key100 is rectangular in shape or has a U shape; however, in other formstop key100 is otherwise configured. In oneform top key100 is substantially the same cross-sectional size as side key60 (FIG. 7).Top key100 is sized to fit or connect withside keyway58 as discussed below.
• In the illustrated embodiment inFIGS. 15,16, and17,bottom panel30 includes anupper portion110, alower portion112, afirst side portion114, and asecond side portion116.Bottom panel30 is rectangular in shape; however, in other embodimentsbottom panel28 is otherwise configured. In one form,bottom panel30 is substantially identical to top panel28 (seeFIG. 12).Lower portion112 includes abottom extender118.Bottom extender118 is rectangular in shape with a pair of curved edges; however, in other formsbottom extender118 is square or otherwise configured. As illustrated,bottom extender118 is substantially similar to top extender98 (seeFIG. 12). In one form,bottom extender118 is sized to fit withingroove42 of front panel22 (FIGS. 3 and 5). Bothfirst side portion114 andsecond side portion116 include abottom key120.Bottom key120 is rectangular in shape or has a U shape; however, in other formsbottom key120 is otherwise configured. In oneform bottom key120 is substantially the same cross-sectional size as side key60 and top key100 (FIGS. 12 and 13).Bottom key120 is sized to fit or connect with side keyway58 (FIGS. 6 and 8) as discussed below.
• FIGS. 18,19, and20 illustraterear panel32.Rear panel32 includes anupper portion130, alower portion132, afirst side portion134, and asecond side portion136.Rear panel32 is rectangular in shape. In other forms,rear panel32 is substantially the same size as front panel22 (FIG. 3).Upper portion130 andlower portion132 each include aslot138.Slot138 is rectangular in shape; however, in other forms slot138 is square, triangular, or otherwise configured.Slot138 is sized to fit onto eitherupper portion90 of top panel28 (FIG. 12) orupper portion110 of bottom panel30 (FIG. 15) as described below. Each offirst side portion134 andsecond side portion136 include aback groove140. Back groove140 is rectangular in shape as illustrated. In other forms,back groove140 is square, triangular, or otherwise configured. Optionally,back groove140 is sized to fit with or contact side notch62 (FIGS. 6 and 7) or side notch82 (FIGS. 9 and 10) as discussed below. In the illustrated embodiment,slot138 is rectangular in shape. In other forms,slot138 is triangular, polygonal, or otherwise configured.
• Acabinet device20 is formed by assembling togetherfront panel22,right side panel24,left side panel26,top panel28, andbottom panel30. Optionally, arear panel32 is assembled ontocabinet device20.Right side panel24 is connected tofront panel22 by sliding side key60 (FIG. 7) into master keyway40 (FIG. 4) as shown inFIG. 1.Left side panel26 is connected tofront panel22 by sliding side key80 (FIG. 10) into the other master keyway40 (FIG. 4) as shown inFIG. 1.Right side panel24 and leftside panel26 are interchangeable to allow either panel to be assembled with either master keyway40 (FIG. 4) offront panel22.Top panel28 is connected tofront panel22 by sliding each of top keys100 (FIG. 13) into either of side keyway58 (FIG. 8) ofright side panel24 or side keyway78 (FIG. 1) ofleft side panel26. Additionally,top extender98 oftop panel28 fits intogroove42.Bottom panel30 is connected tofront panel22 by sliding each of bottom keys120 (FIG. 16) into the remaining side keyway58 (FIG. 8) ofright side panel24 and the remaining side keyway78 (FIG. 11) ofleft side panel26.Bottom extender118 ofbottom panel30 fits into the remaininggroove42.Top panel28 andbottom panel30 are interchangeable such thattop panel28 can fit in the location forbottom panel30 andbottom panel30 can fit in the location fortop panel28.
• Optionally,rear panel32 fits ontoright side panel24,left side panel26,top panel28, andbottom panel30. In particular, one of back grooves140 (FIG. 20) fits over or contacts side notch62 (FIG. 7) ofright side panel24 and the other ofback grooves140 fits over or contacts side notch82 (FIG. 10) ofleft side panel26. Additionally, one ofslots138 covers or fits over upper portion90 (FIG. 12) oftop panel28 and the other ofslots138 covers or fits over upper portion110 (FIG. 15) ofbottom panel30.Rear panel32 is configured such that it is reversible to the extent that either ofslots138 fits over either upper portion90 (FIG. 12) or upper portion110 (FIG. 15) and either of back grooves140 (FIG. 20) fits over either side notch62 (FIG. 7) or side notch82 (FIG. 10).
• In one embodiment, an adhesive is applied between side key60 (FIG. 7) and master keyway40 (FIG. 4) for both of the connections betweenright side panel24 andfront panel22 and betweenleft side panel26 andfront panel22. In the same embodiment or another embodiment, adhesive is applied between each of top keys100 (FIG. 13), side keyway58 (FIG. 8), and side keyway78 (FIG. 11), to attachtop panel28 toright side panel24 and leftside panel26. Similarly, adhesive is applied between each of bottom keys120 (FIG. 16), side keyway58 (FIG. 8), and side keyway78 (FIG. 11), to attachbottom panel30 toright side panel24 and leftside panel26. Adhesive can also be applied to top extender98 (FIG. 12) and groove42 (FIG. 5) to attachtop panel28 tofront panel22. Likewise, adhesive can be applied to bottom extender118 (FIG. 15) and groove42 (FIG. 5) to attachbottom panel30 tofront panel22. Optionally, adhesive can be applied to each of slots138 (FIG. 19), upper portion90 (FIG. 12), and upper portion110 (FIG. 15) to attachrear panel32 totop panel28 andbottom panel30. In another form, staples, screws, or other fasteners can be used to attach each ofslots138 ofrear panel32 totop panel28 andbottom panel30. Also optionally, adhesive can be applied to each of back grooves140 (FIG. 20), side notch62 (FIG. 7), and side notch82 (FIG. 10) to attachrear panel32 toright side panel24 and leftside panel26. Examples of adhesive are wood glue, carpenters glue, epoxy, or polyvinyl acetate (PVA), to name a few.
• While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

Claims (21)

1. A cabinet system comprising:

a front panel having a pair of master keyways and a pair of grooves;

a pair of side panels, each of the side panels having a side key, a pair of side keyways, and a side notch, the side key of one of the side panels configured to connect with one of the master keyways and the side key of the other of the side panels configured to connect with the other one of the master keyways;

a top panel having a pair of top keys and a top extender, each of the top keys configured to connect with one of the side keyways, and the top extender configured to connect with one of the pair of grooves; and

a bottom panel having a pair of bottom keys and a bottom extender, each of the bottom keys configured to connect with one of the side keyways, and the bottom extender configured to connect with the other of the pair of grooves.

2. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, further comprising:

a rear panel having a pair of back grooves and a pair of slots, each of the back grooves configured to contact one of the side notches, one of the slots configured to contact the top panel, and the other of the slots configured to contact the bottom panel.

3. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein the top panel and the bottom panel are interchangeable.

4. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the master keyways has an L-shape.

5. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the side keys has a U-shape.

6. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the top keys has a U-shape.

7. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein the master keyways and the side keyways are shaped substantially similar to each other.

8. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein the side keys, the top keys, and the bottom keys are shaped substantially similar to each other.

9. The cabinet system ofclaim 1, wherein the top panel and the bottom panel are substantially similar to each other.

10. A method of forming an interlocking cabinet comprising:

providing a front panel having a pair of master keyways and a pair of grooves;

providing a pair of side panels, each of the side panels having a side key, a pair of side keyways, and a side notch;

sliding the side key onto one of the master keyways to connect one of the side panels with the front panel;

sliding the slide key onto the other of the master keyways to connect another of the side panels with the front panel;

providing a top panel having a pair of top keys and a top extender; and

sliding each of the top keys onto one of the side keyways to connect the top panel with the pair of side panels.

11. The method of forming an interlocking cabinet ofclaim 10, further comprising:

placing a rear panel on the pair of side panels, the top panel and the bottom panel.

12. The method of forming an interlocking cabinet ofclaim 10, further comprising:

inserting the top extender into one of the pair of grooves.

13. The method of forming an interlocking cabinet ofclaim 12, further comprising:

inserting the bottom extender into the other of the pair of grooves.

14. The method of forming an interlocking cabinet ofclaim 11, wherein the rear panel has a pair of back grooves and a pair of slots;

assembling each of the side notches with one of the back grooves to connect the rear panel to the pair of side panels; and

assembling each of the slots with either the top panel or the bottom panel.

15. The method of forming an interlocking cabinet ofclaim 10, further comprising:

attaching both of the side panels to the front panel with an adhesive;

attaching the top panel to the pair of side panels with the adhesive; and

attaching the bottom panel to the pair of side panels with the adhesive.

16. A system of joints for connecting a front panel, a pair of side panels, a top panel, and a bottom panel together to form a cabinet comprising:

a pair of master keyways on the front panel;

a side key, a pair of side keyways, and a side notch on each of the side panels, the side key configured to slide into one of the master keyways to connect each of the side panels with the front panel;

a pair of top keys on the top panel, each of the top keys configured to slide into one of the side keyways to connect the top panel with the pair of side panels; and

a pair of bottom keys on the bottom panel, each of the bottom keys configured to slide into one of the side keyways to connect the bottom panel with the pair of side panels.

17. The system of joints ofclaim 16, wherein the pair of side keyways are shaped substantially similar to the pair of master keyways.

18. The system of joints ofclaim 16, wherein the side keys, the top keys, and the bottom keys are shaped substantially similar to each other.

19. The system of joints ofclaim 16, wherein each of the master keyways has an L-shape.

20. The system of joints ofclaim 16, wherein each of the side keys has a U-shape.

21. The system of joints ofclaim 16, wherein each of the top keys has a U-shape.

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