US2708147A - Cabinet installation - Google Patents

Description

Ml? 10, 1955 s'. F. DUGGAN ETAL. *I 2,708,147

` CABINET msrALLA'rIoN Piled Aug. 11 1951 y 2 Shfotvsheet A FRA/VWS F. DUG/V LDU/S L BURKE YD l'l; DAVIDSON .liu I @Ma ATTORNEY.

M0! 10, 1955 F. F. DUGGAN avm. 2,708,147

:308,141 CABINET INSTALLATioN Franci! F. Duggan, Louis L. Burke, and Lloyd H. Davidson, -Connersville, Ind., assignors to Aveo Manufacturing Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware ApplicationAngust 11, 1951, Serial No. 241,454 s claims. (ci. 3124-1211) The present invention relates generally to a cabinet installation and more particularly concerns an improved construction for mounting kitchen cabinets on a vertical wall. v

-vAlthongh'kitchen installations comprising a plurality of individloverhgadcabinets attached to the walls of A 25,708,147 Y Patented May 10,1955

vertical interior wall. The hanger bar is provided with v a horizontal projection .which is engaged by recesses lformed in'the rear walls of the cabinets being mounted. When thus engaged with the hanger bar, the cabinets are automatically aligned so that the rear plane faces of the .cabinets all lie in a common plane. The structural portions of the cabinet engaged with the hanger bar are provided with holes which can be aligned with holes pro- Furthermore, according to'standard building methods, a,

structural support or stud is only provided within the wall periodically, the studs usually being on 16" centers. Since the individual cabinets vary in width and often must be installed on the wall in some particular relationship dictated by the surroundings, it is frequently. impossible to secure the individual cabinet hangers directly to studs with the result that a weak, unsatisfactory installation results where the hangers are attached to the wall between the studs. The present invention avoids all of these difiiculties.

Another common mounting system comprehends the provision of an elongated wooden member which is first securedto the wall, the cabinets thereafter being attached to the wooden support. Although this mounting arrangement avoids many of the diiculties of individual hangers, it has shortcomings of its own. For one thing, the wooden member usually is relatively weak in a direction perpendicular to the wall and tends to follow the run-out of the wall with the result that, as in the case o( hdividual hangers, the cabinets, when attached to the wall. do not line up uniformly, the individual cabinets often being cocked towards or away from one another in an irregular line. Furthermore, it is conventional to use wood screws for attaching the cabinets to the wooden support member, with the result that, when the cabinets are removed to facilitate painting of the wall, the screw holes in the wooden member become worn and the cabinets tend to be loose when reinstalled. Another serious defect of the mounting arrangement results from the fact that clearance must be provided at the rear of the cabinets to accommodate the wooden support. As presently constructed, the clearance space prevents complete utilization of the storage volume of the cabinets. In addition, the clearance space must be covered in some fashion at the end walls of the row of cabinets to.

improve the appearance of the installation. Another serious drawback of the mounting arrangement is that no means is provided for automatically aligning the cabinets on the wooden support.

The present invention eliminates all of the foregoing difficulties. Briey stated, the present invention comprises a hanger bar which is attached horizontally to a vided in the hanger bar proper, -fastening 'means being subsequently passed through the-aligned holes to' attach the cabinets to the hanger bar.

Accordingly, it is'an important object of the present invention to provide an improved cabinet installation in which a plurality. of individual cabinets are automatically aligned relative to one another by a common hanger bar despite the fact that the mounting wall to which the cabinets are attached departs from planarity.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide `a cabinet mounting structure ,which is very strong and which makes possible the firm attachment of a plurality of cabinets to a wall, despite the fact that the structural rnembersaoftthewyvallv:are irregularly spaced or relatively far apart. Still another object of the invention cabinet installation which makes possible full utilization of the Vstorage volume within the cabinets.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it makes possible the removable attachment of a plurality of cabinets to a wall so that the cabinets can be removed and reinstalled without damage whenever the occasion arises, as when the wall must bel cleaned and painted. Another advantage of the invention is that it makes possible the mounting of a plurality of cabinets immediately beneath a soit to preserve the maximum volume of the room in which the cabinets are installed.

It is'also an object ofthe present invention to provide a mounting construction which will accommodate a plurality of cabinets of different widths without the necessity4 for drilling extra holes in a hanger. bar to which the cabinets are attached. Afurther advantage of the invention is that the cabinets can fbe attached to the hanger bar by concealed fasteners'inserted from the interior of the cabinets.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims;

the invention itself, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: v f

Figure l shows in perspective a lrear elevational view of a cabinet and a hanger bar to which cabinet can be secured;

Figure 2 shows in perspective, and to an enlarged scale, a portion of the upper rear wall of the cabinet in installed relationship with a section of the hanger bar;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of la plurality of cabinets attached to a hanger bar secured to a vertical wall; and l Figure 4 is a top plan view of a corner of an outside cabinet taken on plane 4-4 of Figure 3 showing to an;

enlarged scale a cover plate-secured to the side wall of a cabinet to conceal the recesses provided in the cabinet l plane rear wall 6 and a top wall 7. The rear wall is formed to delne a recess, generallydesgnated 8, which accommodates a projecting channel shaped portion 9 of a hanger bar, generally designated l0.

The'hanger bar may be formed from sheet metal into a flanged channel cross section, the flanges 11 being designed to lay against a wall 12 of a room, as illustrated in Figure 3.

It is conventional in this country to construct an interior wall of a domestic dwelling by erecting a plurality of vertical studs, schematically indicated by phantom lines at 13 in Figure 3. These studs are usually erected on sixteen inch centers and the wall covering is attached thereto. The inherent variations in building materials and methods precludes, for practical purposes, the construction of a perfectlyllat vertical wall with the result that it frequently departs from planarity. Despite these departures, the present invention makes it possible to' align and attach a plurality of cabinets to the wall without difficulty. As illustrated in the preferred embodiment, the hanger bar is screwed, or otherwise suitably attached, throughl holes 10a, to the studs 13 spanning the wall horizontally and bridging any depressions and other run-outs in the wall.

After 4the hanger bar is secured to the wall, each of the cabinets is individually raised and moved laterally until recess 8 vengages projection 9 of the bar. A plurality of spaced holes 14 is provided in hanger bar 10 and each cabinet is provided with two sets of vertically aligned holes 15 which can be brought into alignment with comparably spaced holes 14. After' thus being aligned, threaded fastening members, such as metal screws. 16, are passed upwardly from the interior of the cabinet through the cabinet and hanger bar. By tightening fasteners 16, the cabinet can be drawn securely against the hanger bar with the cabinet flush against the mounting wall and in perfect alignment with other cabinets attached'to the hanger bar. The headsof screws 16 are concealed from view for practical purposes and cannot be seen dunn ordinary use of the cabinets.

The details of the cabinet construction can best be understood from Figure 2 which shows the rear wall 6 formed to define integral inwardly projecting channel 17 having an upper horizontal leg 18, defining recess 8 and terminating at 19. A

The top wall 7 has a vertical wall portion 20 at the rear of the cabinet and has a horizontal rearwardly extending ange 21 contiguous with leg 18 of channel 17. Wall portion 20, in conjunction with ange 2l, defines a second recess, generally designated 22, which provides g clearance for the upper ends of fasteners 16 after they have passed fully through the cabinet and hanger bar.

Manufacturers of kitchen cabinets often make various size cabinets in'integral multiples of an inch. Accordingly, it is a relatively easy matter to space holes 15 horizontally by a distance which is also an integral multiple of an inch. By spacingholes 14 in the hanger bar at one inch intervals, it is possible to install any width cabinet on the hanger bar without dn'lling special holes. Furthermore, the cabinets can be installed in any position desired on the hanger bar within one inch or less of any arbitrarily chosen point on the mounting wall.

lt is to be observed that recesses 8 and 22 are relatively small and do not impair thesubstantially full utilization of the storage volume within the cabinet. These recesses, however, must be covered for appearance sake at the exposed side wall of the last cabinet of the series installed on the mounting wall. For this purpose, a cover plate, generally designated 23, may be provided for attachment to side wall 4a of the last cabinet of the series. This cover plate, which is best illustrated in Figure 4, comprises a plane vertical portion 24 with an in-tumed flange. 25. A metal clip 264i: spot welded or otherwise securedv to portion 24 and engages the interior face 4b of wall 4a. Cover plate 23 is force fitted onto wall-4a before the associated cabinet is installed on the hanger bar. After installation of the cabinets, recesses 8 and 22 are ,no longer visible and an extremely neat appearance is created.

It is important to note with regard to the present invention that the hanger bar can be supplied in relatively great lengths so that it can be cut as required to accommodatewthc proportions of the mounting wall. After being cut to length and mounted horizontally on the wall, it is merely necessary to hang the cabinets on the hanger bar. The job can easily be handled by one man who can first install the hanger bar and then hang 'the cabinets,

4 inserting the fasteners 16 upwardly through the hanger bar from the interior of the cabinets. Since the cabinets are automatically fully aligned as soon as engaged with the hanger bar, it is obvious that services of a second man are not required in holding the cabinets during the time that the fasteners are inserted. This is obviously a great benefit.

As illustrated in Figure 2, screw fastener 16 is shown tlireadedly engaged with flange 21 of the cabinet, the screw passing with clearance through holes 14 provided in the hanger bar. By making holes 14 slightly larger in diameter than the screw fasteners, or by slotting them, a small degree of adjustability is made available which facilitates installation of the cabinets in perfect alignment, thereby compensating for slight inaccuracies in the cabinets that inevitably result from manufacturing variations. Additional screws can be inserted through holes 27 into wall 12 and the cabinets can be bolted to one another through holes 28 to complete the installation.

Since the cabinets are moved laterally into engagement with the hanger bar, the tops of the cabinets can be installed flush with the ceiling or soit of a kitchen thus preserving the volume of the room and creating a neat and substantial appearance.

lt will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention makes possible a rugged, attractive installation of a plurality of kitchen cabinets. While the interior volume of the cabinets is preserved, perfect alignment of the cabinets is attainable despite departures of themounting wall from planarity. It will furthermore be appreciated that the present invention makes possible a strong cabinet installation despite the fact that the structural supports of the mounting wall are irregularly spaced and relatively far apart. v

Having described a preferred embodiment of our invention, we claim: c

1. A cabinet installation for attachment to a wall comprising a rigid hanger bar having a flanged channel cross section, the flanges being secured to the wall with the channel portion projecting outwardly from the wall and disposed in a substantially horizontal position, a plurality of cabinets each having a planar rear wall and planar side walls perpendicularly disposed to said rear wall, the upper portion of said rear wall of each cabinet defining a channel shaped recess for engagement with the projecting channel portion of said hanger. bar, each of said cabinets also defining a clearance recess parallel to and disposed above the first recess, said rear walls of said cabinets being contiguous to the wall on which said cabinets 'are mounted, the rear edges of said side walls of said cabinets being co-planar with said rear walls, and ooncealed threaded fastening means extending from the interior of said cabinets upwardly through the channel portion of said hanger bar into the clearance recesses whereby the fastening means ca nnot be readily observed during normal use of said cabinets.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and, in addition,

l a cover plate for covering the recesses of the exposed side wall of the last cabinet of the plurality supported by said hanger bar, said cover plate comprising an exterior wall portion and a clip secured to the inner face thereof, said wall portion and said clip engaging the exposed side wall of the last cabinet in position to cover the ends of said first and second named recesses.

3. A cabinet installation for attachment to a wall comprising a rigid hanger bar having a flanged channel cross section, the flanges being secured to the, wall with the channel portion projecting 4outwardly from the wall and r disposed in a substantially horizontal position, a plurality of cabinets each having a planar rear wall defining a channel shaped recess for engagement with the projecting chanprojection coextensive with its length, said bar being se cured to the wall in a substantially horizontal position, a

plurality of cabinets each having a substantially planar rear wall defining a horizontal channel-shaped recess for receiving the channel-shaped projection of said hanger bar,

adjacent cabinets having their side walls contiguous and substantially perpendicular to said hanger bar, and threaded fastening means extending from the interiors of said cabinets through the channel-shaped projection of said hanger bar into the channel-shaped recess.

5. A cabinet installation for attachment to a wall comprising a single rigid hanger bar including an integral projection coextensive with its length, said bar being secured to thevwall in a substantially horizontal position with said projection extending outwardly from the wall, a plurality of cabinets each including a rear wall defining a horizontal recess for receiving said projection of said hanger bar, the recess conforming closely to said projection, adjacent cabinets having their side wall contiguous and substantially perpendicular to said hanger bar, and fastening means extending from the interiors of said cabinets through said projection of said hanger bar into the horizontal recess.

.References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,629,430 Auen May 17, 1927 1,843,264 Bales Feb. 2, 1932 2,343,750 coman Mar. 7, 1944 2,496,997 Hallberg Feb. 7, 1950 2,499,240 Aiken Feb. 2s, 1950 2,521,134 stanitz sept. 5, 1 950 2,521,765 white sept. 12, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 583,130 France Jan. '1, 1935v

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