GB2522431A - Worktop support - Google Patents

Abstract

A support 15 comprising an elongate support member 12 of substantially L-shaped cross-section is provided to support a worktop 10 of various thicknesses above the horizontal support surface 20. There is further provided a cover member 14 for attachment to fittings 25, 26 of the support member via corresponding fittings 27, 28 of the cover. Said cover member comprises a first channel 30 adjacent a bottom edge to accommodate a first sealing member 16 and a second channel 48 adjacent a top edge of the outer surface to accommodate a second sealing member 18. Said sealing members seal the gaps between the cover and worktop and between the cover and wall 17 respectively. The sealing members comprise an extrusion of elastomeric material having generally rectangular cross-section with a widened sealing surface.

Description

[0001] This invention relates Lu a wall-mounted support for a worktop, designed to be adaptehie to w rktops of di fferent thicknesses, allowing flu-Id t iqht sea Is between the top surface of the workton and the support and between the sport and tIE: wail.

[0002] Many wor ktops are mountedaansL wfls, and in many envtronment s such as laboratories and areas for food preara t IDni t. ta import an.t to ensure that any clap between the wall and the adjacent edge of. the worktop is ciosed with a liciuld-tight seal.

[0003] The present invention is intended Lu provide awalil mountinq for a worictoo that can accomniodate wor K tops u-f different thicknesses-while aiwvs maintaining a reliable liquidtight seal between the worktop surface and the wail, So as to prevent liquids from dnpp.inq down the wail behind the worktop and to prevent S 0110 matter accumulating there.

i0O0] The present invea'itiori rc1vides a support for a worktop comprising an elongate support member nf substantially L-shaped cross section with a vertical pat:L for securing to a wail and horizontal part to support an edge of a worktop and a cover mernbcr havi.nq a smooth outer surface and fittings behind the outer surface to engage corre9pondinq fittings on the support member at different heights at-ova the horizontal support surf3ce toac commodate work tops of different thicknesses, the outer surface havxng an ucper part.

that extends backwards to terminate above the support member when the cover member is fit ted 1:heteto and the covet member having a first channel adjacent and behind a bottom edge of the outer surface to accommodate a first sealing member and a second channel adjacent a top edge of the outer surface ave the suppoit member, to accommodate a second sealing member, wheteby in use the first-, SC!in* member seals a gap between the cover member and the top worktop. sur.face and the second sealing nernber seals a gap between the top of the cover member and the wall.

[0005j The support member is preferably in the form of a continuous extrusion, suitably of aluminium. For some applications it could be of another material such as rigid plastics material. The vertical part of the support member may he orovided with a crew holes to secure it to a wall.

These will he protected from any contamination from the worktop by the cover member and its seals.

[0006] The horizontal worktop--supporting leg of the support member may have upper surface formations to help grip the underside of the worktop. its vertical front surface i.e provided with formations to engage the cover member. These may suitably be of. hook-shaped cross section and are preferably in the form of continuous horizontal ridges extruded integrally with the support member.

[0007] The cover neither is -also preferably in the forn of a cort inuous extrusion, most suttably of aJ.umi niur:. Again, other materials may be used fox aifferent applications.

integral engaging members may extend rearwardly train an inward surface of the cover member to engage corresponding formations art the front surface of the support member.

[0008] The channels for the sealing members preferably have an elongate open nq of I imi ted w unhs and a wider inner portion to acc.orrtuiodate a widened section of the sealing member that can thus be retained in the channel.

[0009] Thc sealng members are preferably of art elastomeric material, f-ar example neoprene or silicone-rubber-Each seal is preferably in the form of an extruded strip having a flat bottom surface to engage the worktop or wail surface wltri a formation on the top surface of the strip forming a fitting section to engage in a retaining channel of the cover member Along one longitudinal edge of the strip there is preferably formed an outer sealing section which, in cross section, has a lower sealing surface forning an obtuse angle with the fiat bottom surface of the strip, ex ending downwards and away from it, and an upper sealing surface forming an acute angle with the top surface of the st-rip, extending upwards and towards the fitting section of* -he strip. In the assembled support, the outer sealing section is distorted so that its I ower sealing surface engages the worktop surface and extends cc-planar with the flat]..ower surf ace of the strip and its upper sealing surface engages a surface of the covet member and extends substantially at right angles to the upper surface of the strip.

[0010] Preferred err'bodiments of the iiwention will n-ow be described with reference to t.he accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a perspe-cti.ive of a war ktop suprort in accordance with t 1-ia irtvenL ion, support ing a Figure 2 is an enlarged end ele"-ation of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a further enlarged cross sectional view of the sealing strip of Figures land 2 and Figure 4 is a side elevation similar to Figure 2 hut showing how the support assembly c-an be adapted to accommodate a wc.rktop of greater thickness.

[00J.1j Referring first to Figure 1, a worktop 10 is retained along one lorignudinal edge thereof by a suppcrt generally indicated by 15 and comprising an elongate support member 12 of generally L--shaped cross sectj.on and a cover member 14 presenting a smooth, cuived. outeL surface. Elastorreric sealing members 15, 18 provide liquid proof.eals between Uie lower edge of the cover member and the workcop and between the upper rare edge of the cover member and the wall respectively.

100121 Tne structure of the worktop support 15 is shown in detail in Figure 2. The support member 12 comprises an elongate extrusion-of aluminium, rigid plast.j.cs or other material hach.ng an essentially L-shaped section, with a horizontal support 12. with a roughened surface 21 to support the underside of the-worktop 10, retaining it by friction against horizontal movement.

[0013] The upright section 19 of the support member 12 has short rearward project iOns 23 to abuL the surface oi a wall 17. On its opposite surface the upright section 19 has projecting hook-shaped ridges 25 turned upwardly and 26 turn-ed downwardly, to engage respective rearwardly projecting webs 27, 28 formed integrally on the rearside of cover member 14. The web 27 has. a turned down edge at its free end end to engage,ir. channel formed by the upwardly t irneó hook-shaped forrration 25-, while web 2$ has at its free end an engaginq member 29 of hook-shaped cross section with a downwardly Lurneca edac 3.3 Lc.. enaaqe the hook-shaped formation 26. The COVii. ipeILoeL 1 D c&fl tnus cm secured to the support member 12 by inserting the turned down dqe of web 27 into ths-channel foimea by enqagement ridge 25 and rotating the cover member anti-clockwise as shown in Fiqure 2 sn that first the leading turned down end 33 of the hoo shaped section 29 neets the lower edge of enuac3ernent member 26 anc' si ides over ii: wit ii the cover member is locked in with a snap fit as shown in inc drawing. The rigid plastics material of cover member 15 has suffic len resi fienre to ensure and retain such engagemEnt [00111 The front sur face of support member 12 has three pairs of lower, and upper enqaqement ridges. 25, 26, tne spacing between the members of each pair being the same so triat the web5 27, 28 of the cover member can engage three -fl fterent pairs of enqagement members at di ffererxt heights.

The cover member 14 has a smooth outer surface 24 with a vertical lower section and an upper section that curves rearwardly towards the vertical se. .on l9of the support member and the wall 17. Behind the bottom edqe of this front surface, and between the bottom edne and the web 27, is a channel section 30 accomniodat_ng sealino member l6as will be sc.,ed -r rn-c des3 i cDmect c itn F gure [UOlS] Au acent the inwardl y curved top edge of the cover member 24 is a cnannei. serii on 48, identical in shape to the section 30 but rotated through 900 in relation to it. This harsnel sect ion accommodates the seal ing member 18.

[00161 Figure 3 shows in cross sect ion the sealing member 16 as extruded, before fitting the support.. The conflgurat.ion it adopts when fitted is shown in broken lines.

The strip compis jyaji body sectic:.n 32 having a fiat bottom surface j to abut die wc'rktop surface 10, shown in broken irnes. On the opposite side of the body 32 is a t*rjrtfl section snaped to engage in channel 30 of the cover member alSo shuwr; .1 n z'roicen I tries. The fitting section compri ses widenect upper part 35 wtt)-a narrowed centre secr.ic:.n 34 which fils between inwardly prol.ecting edges 39 of the channel 30 to retain the strip.

[0017] Morig one lonaitudinal edge c:f the main body portion 32 is a sealing section 36 extending above ann below the i-nain body and obliquely thereto. The sealing sec jon nas a first sealing surface 37 that in the unstressed cc.nfiguratior of the strip as shown in Figure 3 extends at an obtuse angle to surface 33. P. second sealing surface 38 extenids at an acute angle to the upper surface of main oody 32, towards the fitting section 35, [00181 When the cover se.c tion 15 with its attacned seals 16, 18 is fitted into the support member 12, secured to a wail, with a worktop 10: in place, tne lower surface 37 of the sealing section 36 engages the worktop sun-ace ano. is ent ucwarthy to extend coplanar with botton surface 33 of the sealing member as shown at 36 37. Similarly, tile UCt sealing surface 38 is bent fo_rwdrd Lo extend vertically, abutting the front surface 24 a shown at 38 in Figure 3.

1.00191 Figure 4 shows the assembly of Fiquzes 1 and 2 adapted to acconunodate a work.cop 40 of c.ireater thickness.

This figure also shows screws 45 passing through screw holes is the vertical part 19 of suppL'rc section 12 to secure the support section to the wall 17. In this figure the rearwarrily extending web 27 of. cover member 15 fits into an engagement member 42, posit toned above, the enqdgement nic.mber used in Figure 3, and the web 28 snaps round an engagement member 44, positioned above the engagement member 26 used in Figure 3. Since the spacing between engagement merabe-rs 42 and Its identical to that between enqagernent members 25 arid 26, che same cover member 15 can be used to accommodate the thicker worktop 40.

[0020] The upper sealing member 18 is identical to the saling member 1. but is inverted relative to it so that the cross sections of the two sealing members as shown in figures 2 and 4 are. mirror images of one another thus the sealinci surface 38 of sealing member 18 abuts the Lop edge of front surface 14 while its sealing surface 37 abuts the wall.

[0021] It can be seen from Figures 2 and 4 t..hat when a work-top i.s assembled with the wox ktop support of the invention the gap between the worktop edge and the wail is effectively closed off by the cover member 15, with liquid-tight seals 16, 18 at its upper and lower ends so that the passage of: any liquid or loose matter over the rear edge of the worktop is effectively prevented.