Method for making countertop
A method of assembling a solid surface countertop and a joint used in such assembly. Rather than building up a corner area of a countertop and cutting a radiused corner, pieces are preformed in the shop having interlocking pieces to provide additional strength and ease of assembly. The pieces interlock using a similar shaped joint for the edge pieces and the corner block.
This application is a Divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 10/867,687, filed on Jun. 16, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the assembly of a countertop and more particularly to the assembly of a solid surface countertop using a shaped joint for extra strength and ease of manufacture.
2. Discussion of the Background
A number of different types of materials have been used over the years for horizontal surfaces used in kitchens and other places. While wood and stone have been used for a very long time, more modern materials are preferred to provide surfaces which are less prone to staining, easier to clean and more attractive. Porcelain surfaces were utilized for a number of years but have given way to laminates such as FORMICA which are less expensive.
More recently, solid surface countertops have achieved great popularity for kitchen countertops and other horizontal surfaces. This material is produced by several different companies under different trademarks with one of these being known as CORIAN made by Dupont. This material has a number of advantages in that it has a very hard and smooth surface and at the same time is very attractive. Of particular importance is the fact that the material may be cut with a router or similar tool so that it is not necessary to prefabricate the surface shape during the manufacturing process of the solid surface material.
However, there are some difficulties in using this material. The material itself is somewhat expensive and accordingly it is very important not to waste material, in order to keep the price of the countertop competitive. Solid surface sheets are normally supplied in a thickness of ½″. The normal thickness of solid surface countertops at exposed edges is 1½″. Therefore a build-up at the exposed edge is added to achieve the desired thickness. Also, the material is easily cracked if sharp corners are formed. Accordingly, both inner and outer corners on the countertop should have a radius rather than a sharp corner. While the countertop material may be worked in the field using standard tools, it still requires a substantial amount of time of an experienced workman in order for the countertop to be properly adhered and shaped so as to avoid weak areas susceptible to cracking. The cost of labor of an experienced workman in assembling the countertop and shaping the corners constitutes a major part of the cost of the entire countertop. Accordingly, it is important that the time of assembly be decreased as much as possible to avoid any unnecessary costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, the present invention provides a method of assembling a countertop.
The present invention further provides a method of assembling a solid surface countertop using shaped components and joints.
The present invention further provides a shaped joint for use in assembling a solid surface countertop.
The present invention further provide preshaped parts for assembling a countertop.
The present invention still further provides a method of assembling a solid surface countertop utilizing shaped joints which are precut.
Briefly, the invention achieves this by providing parts which are shaped and wherein the joints have matching contours and an interlocking joint to provide a more glue-able surface and additional strength of the assembly components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSA more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views and more particularly to
In the assembly of the countertop, it is preferred that the final product has the appearance of substantial thickness and in particular has a thick edge around the visible periphery of the countertop. This dimension can be for example an inch and a half or other thickness. However, it is not necessary for the entire countertop to be this thick and in fact the main surface of the countertop can be perhaps one half inch thick. While it would be possible to enlarge the entire countertop to this full thickness, this is unnecessary and is wasteful of materials which are quite expensive. Accordingly, the countertop is normally formed with a thinner layer which extends across the entire surface and the edge is formed by adding a vertical section to give the appearance of additional thickness. This edge can be formed either by vertically aligning a narrow piece along the edge, or by building up two or more layers along the edge. While this is done in common practice, it is tedious work since the adhesive must be carefully applied in order for the final product to have full strength and in order for the manufacturer of the material to guarantee the final product. Thus, considerable time is utilized in forming the edge of the countertop.
Even more difficult is the formation of corners, both inside and outside. While it is relatively easy to cut simple corners in the material, square corners give rise to cracks due to stress concentrations in the material. Accordingly, it is required to use a radiused corner, such as is shown in
In the prior art, a common method of forming such a radiused corner is shown in
Whether cutting an inside corner or outside corner, there is considerable loss of material in the process. Further, even under the best of circumstances, additional processing in the form of sanding is necessary since the cut cannot be perfect when done by hand. Also, it is necessary that the block be oversized in order to provide enough strength for the processing and for eventual strength to avoid cracks.
While it is generally known that numerically controlled cutting machines can cut such material in a shop, the technique of pre-cutting shaped corners and matching interlocking shaped build-up components is not common practice.
Applicants have avoided this problem by discovering that it is possible to precut parts in the shop and assemble them with interlocking corners and edges while increasing the desirable strength and avoiding the other difficulties presented in the prior art. As shown in
The end of the edge pieces 30 have a curved shape which match the curved shape of the layers 28 which form the corner block. By having these shapes identical, it is possible to adhere the edge pieces to the corner blocks so that they interlock and form a strong integral unit. By utilizing an interlocking shape which has more surface area for adhesive, additional strength results. Since all of the parts are cut in the shop using numerically controlled machines, the cuts are identical and less wastage occurs. Also, because the parts are laid out by computer, less wastage occurs in the layout process. While block 28 has been described in terms of the angled corner, other shapes can be formed for the inner and outer radiused corners 40 and 42.
The interlocking shape described above, does not have to be the specific curve as shown in
Furthermore, the countertop has been described as a solid surface material such as Dupont CORIAN. However, any type of similar material can be utilized, not only other brands of the same material, but also other related materials which can be shaped and properly adhered in order to buildup corners. Also, while a rabbeted edge has been shown in order to hold the edge pieces, such an edge is not strictly necessary and may be eliminated if sufficient strength is formed in the joint otherwise.
By utilizing the invention described above, less time is required for the workman. Furthermore, exact cuts can be made using numerically controlled cutting machines in the shop so that less sanding is required and better fits are obtained. Furthermore, less material is wasted both in the cutting operation and in the layout of the parts. Further, by utilizing parametric software, the shape may be defined once and the dimensions of new jobs may be simply inserted to obtain similarly shaped pieces but having different sizes.
Numerous additional modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise and as specifically described herein.
Claims
1. An interlocking joint for a countertop assembly, comprising:
- a first piece having a first interlocking surface;
- a second piece having a corresponding second interlocking surface wherein said first piece and second piece are bonded together along said interlocking surfaces to form said interlocking joint.
2. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said first piece and said second piece are parts of a solid surface countertop.
3. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said first surface has a shape of a rounded corner with an elongated side.
4. The interlocking joint according to claim 1, wherein said joint is used in assembling a countertop.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 15, 2006
Publication Date: Jul 13, 2006
Inventor: David Boone (Chesapeake, VA)
Application Number: 11/375,122
International Classification: E04F 13/00 (20060101);