Moulding assembly

Abstract

A two-piece moulding assembly for use as an above-cabinet finishing comprises a base component providing an upwardly directed tongue formed at an obtuse angle, and a decorative component provided with a groove of complementary orientation whereby in an assembled interrelationship the decorative component registers with and is supported by the base component.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Benefit of U.S. Provisional Application for Patent Ser. No. 60/960,597, filed on Oct. 5, 2007, is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a moulding assembly and in particular concerns such an assembly for use in the attachment of above-cabinet treatments, namely finishing or decorative mouldings applied to cabinets for aesthetic purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known in the cabinet-making art to provide a decorative one-piece moulding as an aesthetic feature to finish the top of a cabinet, for example a breakfront bookcase or more mundanely a kitchen cabinet. The moulding generally includes a base part contiguous and integral with an outwardly extending contoured part obtusely oriented in relation to the base part.

Such a moulding may be a unitary, or one piece, moulding. However, a difficulty commonly associated with a one-piece moulding is its application to the cabinet top because the moulding tends to be unwieldy, especially when fixing the moulding to the cabinet.

One solution for facilitating the fixing of a decorative moulding to a cabinet top is to produce the moulding as a two piece assembly having. Such two piece moulding assemblies typically have a base piece and a decorative piece for attachment to the base piece such that when affixed one to the other and applied to the cabinet top, the moulding appears to be unitary. An example of such a two piece moulding assembly known in the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in section in FIG. 1, the moulding assembly 10 has a base piece 12, for securement to the cabinet top (not shown), with a horizontally-extending tongue 13 provided along the length of the base piece 10 integrally therewith. A separate decorative piece 14 is shown as having a complementary groove 15 for the reception of the tongue 13 to provide an interlocking joint, thus giving the appearance of a unitary moulding. In practice, the pieces of the moulding can be secured together by the use of a bonding agent and/or by the use of fixing such as panel pins or other suitable fixtures. Unfortunately, while it will be readily appreciated that although the tongue 13 and groove 15 is satisfactory the shape and the weight distribution of the decorative piece does not afford the desired stability during the fixing operation of the assembly 10 to the cabinet. Additionally, the orientation of the groove 15 for the prior art assembly 10 is such that its formation during manufacture demands an angular setting that may be difficult or awkward to achieve.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved two-piece moulding assembly for use as a decorative finishing in an above-cabinet treatment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved two-piece moulding assembly for use as a decorative finishing in an above-cabinet treatment.

An advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece moulding assembly that facilitates the engagement of the two pieces for fixing.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the two-piece moulding assembly has a design to afford ease of machining during the manufacturing stage.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a moulding assembly for attachment to a cabinet top of a cabinet as a decorative finishing for the cabinet, the assembly comprising:

• • a base piece of generally elongate form having two end surfaces with a generally opposed top surface and a bottom surface extending therebetween and a generally opposed front surface and back surface extending therebetween, the front surface having a tongue projecting therefrom at an obtuse angle in relation to the top surface; and
  • a decorative piece having a contoured outwardly directed front surface and a mounting face contiguous therewith, the mounting face having a longitudinally extending groove formed therein, the groove receiving the tongue in interlocking engagement therewith and with the mounting face and the front surface abutting one another, the tongue and groove thereby providing positive support for the decorative piece in relation to the base piece.

Conveniently the tongue of the base piece is so fashioned as to constitute a supporting ledge for the decorative piece when the two pieces are brought together for securement.

The orientation of the groove is such that its formation during manufacture is simplified in that the plane of the cutting tool is horizontal in orientation, whereas the prior art demands an angular setting that may be difficult or awkward to achieve.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following FIGS. 2 and 3, in which similar references used in different Figures denote similar components, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross section of a prior art two-piece moulding assembly;

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the two-piece moulding assembly of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of the two-piece moulding assembly shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the annexed drawings the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be herein described for indicative purposes and by no means as of limitation.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a two-piece moulding assembly 20 comprising a base piece 22 and a decorative piece 40. The base piece 22 is of elongate rectangular form having a top surface 24, a generally opposed bottom surface 26, a front surface 28 and a generally opposed back surface 30 with two end surfaces 32, 34 between which the other surfaces 24, 26, 28, 30 longitudinally extend.

The front surface 28 of the base piece 22 is formed with a tongue 36 extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom and longitudinally of the base piece 22. The tongue 36 is orientated at an obtuse angle A in relation to the top surface 26 and is typically rounded over at its free end 38.

The decorative piece 40 has a front outwardly facing front face 42 of contoured form as at 43 and has a mounting face 44 with an angularly oriented back face 45, generally opposite the front face 42, extending obtusely from the mounting face 44. The decorative piece 40 further has a top surface 48.

A groove 50 extends longitudinally of the piece 40 and is machined in an obtuse orientation in the mounting face 44. The groove 50 thus extends substantially parallel to the back face 45. This parallelism is of particular advantage for the machining of the groove in that the cutting tool needs only to be disposed in a horizontal plane rather than an awkward acute angle as with the prior art.

In use, in order to assemble the two pieces, the groove 50 of the decorative piece 40 is brought into mating engagement with the tongue 36 of the base piece and in so doing an interlocking engagement, i.e. interlocking registration, is established by virtue of the obtuse angular orientation of the tongue and groove. At the same time, the front surface 42 is brought into abutting contact in a substantially vertical plane with the mounting face 44 when the tongue 36 is engaged in the groove.

For application to a cabinet top (not shown), the base piece 22 is suitably affixed thereto, generally with the bottom surface 26 abutting thereagainst the cabinet top, with the tongue 36 extending outwardly as seen in FIG. 3 and the decorative piece 40 is then directed as shown by dotted lines into the engagement relationship with the base piece 22. The interlocking tongue and groove may be permanently secured together by a bonding agent and/or by at least one panel pin or brad nail.

The invention thus facilitates application of a decorative finishing to a cabinet top since the decorative piece is able to sit on the base piece, positively supported thereon by virtue of the tongue and groove which maintain the interlocking relationship for the fixing operation of the assembly 20 to the cabinet top.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the disclosure has been made by way of example only and that the present invention is not limited to the features of the embodiments described and illustrated herein, but includes all variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A moulding assembly for attachment to a cabinet top of a cabinet as a decorative finishing for the cabinet, said assembly comprising:

a base piece of generally elongate form having two end surfaces with a generally opposed top surface and a bottom surface extending therebetween and a generally opposed front surface and back surface extending therebetween, said front surface having a tongue projecting therefrom at an obtuse angle in relation to said top surface; and

a decorative piece having a contoured outwardly directed front surface and a mounting face contiguous therewith, said mounting face having a longitudinally extending groove formed therein, said groove receiving said tongue in interlocking engagement therewith and with said mounting face and said front surface abutting one another, said tongue and said groove thereby providing positive support for said decorative piece in relation to said base piece.

2. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said groove is disposed at an obtuse orientation relative said mounting face.

3. The moulding of claim 2, wherein said obtuse angle of said tongue and said obtuse orientation of said groove provide said interlocking engagement when said tongue is disposed within said groove.

4. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said decorative piece has an angularly oriented back face disposed generally opposite said front face.

5. The moulding assembly of claim 4, wherein said back face extends obtusely from said mounting face.

6. The moulding assembly of claim 4, wherein said groove extends substantially parallel said back face.

7. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said base piece is generally rectangular in shape.

8. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said tongue has a generally rounded free end extending longitudinally therealong.

9. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said tongue and groove are configured for permanent securement of said tongue in said groove with a bonding agent.

10. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said tongue and groove are configured for permanent securement of said tongue in said groove with at least one panel pin.

11. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said tongue and groove are configured for permanent securement of said tongue in said groove with at least one brad nail.

12. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said front surface and said mounting face abut one another in a substantially vertical plane when said tongue is in interlocking engagement in said groove.

13. The moulding assembly of claim 1, wherein said bottom surface is configured for abutting attachment to said cabinet top.