TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology is generally related to sinks and methods for making the sinks.

BACKGROUND

Generally, sinks have been used for residential and commercial kitchens and bathrooms because they can contain fluid and/or materials in their interior space and operations can be performed therein such as cleaning and washing dishes, pots, utensils, etc. and preparing food. Modern sinks add both functionality and decorative decor and are manufactured from many materials and in many designs. In the current marketplace, stainless steel sinks are particularly desirable. Most applications utilize fairly standard sized sinks to accommodate the limitations of existing spaces and to reduce the cost of pure custom designed furniture and plumbing work.

Prior art kitchen and bathroom sinks are often installed in cabinets and are typically mounted to the countertop via drop in, as under mount or a flush mount, described as the relationship between the rim of the sink and the countertop. Typically, prior art sinks have a rim or flange that is flat, thin and narrow with rounded edges. Drop in sinks are placed through a pre-cut hole in the countertop with the flange or lip around the sink providing a substantial portion of the support. Common problems of drop in sinks include improper seating of the flange in the pre-cut countertop, gaps between the flange and the countertop and insufficient flange support for the weight of the basin.

In addition, materials and conventional sink manufacturing methods have inherent limitations on the suitability and sustainability of many sink designs for drop in sinks. For example, stainless steel sinks are traditionally stamped from sheet metal or punched from a mold, resulting in rounded or beveled edges. This rounded edge feature creates undesirable gaps between the edges of the sink and the countertop.

Still further, with limited counter space in many homes, home owners are using the sink space for preparing food. Thus, the size of the inner space of the sinks is important based on the needs of the homeowner and some sinks may include a divider for such purposes. Current manufacturing processes of sinks with dividers to form two separate basins have compromised the sustainability and durability of such metal sinks.

Moreover, because counter space is limited and sink space has become useful for food preparation a multi-workstation sink that can perform different functions is desired. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a durable and sustainable sink unit with a novel rim or flange for mounting with the option of a divider in the basin to form multiple basins for different uses and adapted to be used as a multi-workstation sink.

SUMMARY

The techniques of this disclosure provide a sink, and methods of making a durable and sustainable sink, which can be firmly attached to a countertop of a cabinet or any other fixtures, which provides at least two basins without substantially decreasing the volume of the sink, and which functions as a multi-workstation sink.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a sink includes a bottom surface forming an opening for drainage therein, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall, and a fourth sidewall, each of which is extended from the bottom surface, and a ledge fixedly attached to top ends of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls. The bottom surface and the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls have a same thickness, and a thickness of the ledge is different from the thickness of the bottom surface.

In various embodiments, the thickness of the ledge is greater than or equal to 3 millimeters.

In various embodiments, the thickness of the bottom surface is less than or equal to 1.6 millimeters.

In various embodiments, the ledge includes first, second, third, and fourth parts, which correspond to the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, respectively.

In various embodiments, an outer part of the ledge is beveled.

In various embodiments, the sink further includes a divider fixedly attached to a linear opening in the first and third sidewalls and the bottom surface.

In various embodiments, a width of the divider is greater than or equal to 3 mm.

In various embodiments, the divider is welded to the linear opening.

In various embodiments, the sink further includes at least one floating ledge on two facing sides of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls.

In various embodiments, the floating ledge is substantially parallel with the bottom surface.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method for manufacturing a sink includes cutting a first metal to form a bottom surface, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall, and a fourth sidewall, cutting an opening for drainage in the bottom surface, folding boundaries between the bottom surface and each of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, welding an edge of each pair of adjacent two sidewalls of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls so as to make the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls upright from the bottom surface, and welding four pieces of a second metal different from the first metal used in the cutting to make a ledge having first, second, third, and fourth parts, welding the ledge to top ends of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls. The bottom surface and the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls have a same thickness, and a thickness of the ledge is different from the thickness of the bottom surface.

In various embodiments, the thickness of the ledge is greater than or equal to 3 millimeters.

In various embodiments, the thickness of the bottom surface is less than or equal to 0.16 millimeters.

In various embodiments, the ledge includes first, second, third, and fourth parts, which correspond to the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, respectively.

In various embodiments, the method further includes beveling an outer part of the ledge.

In various embodiments, the method further includes cutting off a linear opening in the first and third sidewalls and the bottom surface, and welding a divider into the linear opening.

In various embodiments, a width of the divider is greater than or equal to 3 mm.

In various embodiments, the method further includes folding a portion of one sidewall among the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls to form at least one floating ledge protruding from the one sidewall.

In various embodiments, the floating ledge is substantially parallel with the bottom surface.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method for manufacturing a sink. The method includes cutting a first metal to form a bottom surface, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall, and a fourth sidewall, cutting an opening for drainage in the bottom surface, folding boundaries between the bottom surface and each of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, welding an edge of each pair of adjacent two sidewalls of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls so as to make the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls upright from the bottom surface, and welding four pieces of a second metal to make a ledge having first, second, third, and fourth parts. The ledge to top ends of the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, the bottom surface and the first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls have a same thickness, and a thickness of the ledge is different from the thickness of the bottom surface.

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the techniques described in this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

