Patent Application
20090072687
The invention concerns a drive mechanism for a furniture portion, in particular a drawer or a door, which is mounted movably in or to a furniture item, comprising a drive device which is guided movably with respect to a base and which is acted upon by a force storage means, a damping device and a retraction device, wherein the drive device has an ejection element for moving the furniture portion from a closed end position into an open position and a locking element which is guided by a preferably heart-shaped guide track which is formed on the base.
In drive mechanisms of that kind which are known from the state of the art it is usual for the drive device which is generally arranged on the furniture body or carcass to be coupled to the movable furniture portion, for loading the force storage means. In that case the force storage means which is usually in the form of a spring is loaded over a part of the closing travel, wherein the energy required for that purpose is to be applied manually by the user. It has been found that that state of the art suffers from the problem that substantially more energy is introduced by the user as a consequence of exerting an excessive force on the movable furniture portion, than is required for loading the force storage means of the drive device. As a consequence of this, the locking element is moved into its locking position with a great deal of force and momentum, which, particularly when the arrangement has a heart-shaped guide track for the locking element, can have the result that locking of the drive device is released again of itself by virtue of the high speed of the movable furniture portion. In addition it can happen as a further consequence that the movable furniture portion, when reaching the closed position, strikes against the furniture item or portions thereof.
For that purpose it is further known for the movable furniture portion to be guided into the closed position by means of a damped retraction device, after loading and locking of the force storage means, on the part of the closing travel which is immediately prior to the closed position of the movable furniture portion. Admittedly it is possible with such a damped retraction device to prevent the movable furniture portion from striking against the furniture item or portions thereof, but it is not possible to ensure that the locking element of the drive device is reliably arrested in a fashion which at the same time does not stress the material involved, when using such a damped retraction device which in fact comes into engagement only after locking of the force storage means.
Therefore the object of the invention is to provide a drive mechanism of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, with which the disadvantages known from the state of the art can be avoided and which in addition represents a solution involving a low level of noise and without stressing the material involved.
That object is attained by the invention in that the damping device, the force storage means which acts on the drive device and the retraction device are connected in series, wherein in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention it is provided that the damping device, the force storage means which acts on the drive device and the retraction device are of such an arrangement and configuration that upon closure of the movable furniture portion the damping device acts on the drive device and after complete loading of the force storage means which acts on the drive device the movable furniture portion can be brought into the closed end position by means of the retraction device.
The arrangement according to the invention of the damping device, the force storage means and the retraction device therefore ensures that, upon closure of the movable furniture portion, the movable furniture portion is braked by means of the damping device before the force storage means which acts on the drive device is loaded, thereby providing that, at the beginning of the process of loading up the force storage means, the energy present substantially corresponds to the energy required for loading the force storage means so that the locking element of the drive device is moved into the latching position provided in the guide track, without unnecessary material wear and overdimensional generation of noise.
To achieve friction-less closing or opening movement of the movable furniture portion a further embodiment of the invention provides that the active force of the force storage means which acts on the drive device is greater than the active force of the retraction device and the active force of the retraction device is greater than the active force of the damping device.
In that respect in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention the damping device can be arranged at the drawer rail of a drawer extension guide system, wherein in that case it has been found to be structurally particularly simple if the damping device forms an entrainment member for the movable furniture portion and acts directly on the ejection element or an abutment element of the ejection element of the drive device. Alternatively it would also be conceivable for the damping device to be arranged on the ejection element of the drive device in such a way that the damping device forms an abutment element for an entrainment member arranged on the drawer rail.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention however the damping device can also be arranged on the base, in relation to which the drive device is guided, and can act directly on the end of the drive device, that is remote from the opening direction. That embodiment is particularly suitable in relation to narrow items of furniture in which there is a wish for a drawer guide system that is of a flat configuration.
The invention further concerns a method of opening and closing a furniture portion mounted movably in or to a furniture item, by means of a lockable drive device having at least one force storage means which is to be loaded manually by a user, a damping device and a retraction device.
In contrast to the previously known methods in which damping of the movable furniture portion is effected after complete loading of the force storage means, the method according to the invention provides that the movable furniture portion is braked upon closure in a first portion of the closing travel by means of the damping device, thereafter in a second portion of the closing travel the force storage means which acts on the drive device is loaded and is locked before, in a further portion of the closing travel, with the force storage means loaded and locked, the movable furniture portion is moved into the closed end position against the active force of the damping device by means of the retraction device.
A further aspect of the invention concerns a drive mechanism for a furniture portion, in particular a drawer or a door, which is mounted movably in or to a furniture item, comprising a drive device which is guided movably with respect to a base and which is acted upon by a force storage means, wherein the drive device has an ejection element for moving the furniture portion from a closed end position into an open position and a locking element which is guided by a preferably heart-shaped guide track which is formed on the base.
In that respect, in known drive devices of the general kind set forth, the ejection element and the locking element are generally rigidly connected together or are formed in one piece, which certainly has a positive effect on the stability of the drive device. On the other hand, with such a drive device, it is possible to influence the process of loading or unloading the force storage means, only by additional means which are mounted for example to the drawer extension guide system.
In order now to be able to influence the process of loading or unloading the force storage means, without having to arrange further components on the drawer guide system or on the furniture body or carcass, it is provided in accordance with the invention that the ejection element and the locking element are adapted and arranged to be movable linearly relative to each other, wherein a structurally simple and stable solution provides that the ejection element is guided at preferably elongate guide means of the locking element and/or the locking element is guided at preferably elongate guide means of the ejection element relative to the locking element and the ejection element respectively.
The configuration and arrangement according to the invention of the ejection element now permits a relative movement between the ejection element and the locking element, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the drive device has a force storage means acting between the ejection element and the locking element.
If the relative movement between the ejection element and the locking element should be used to slow down the momentum of the movable furniture portion as it closes before loading of the force storage means which acts on the drive device is started, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the force storage means is a damper, preferably a fluid damper.
It will be appreciated that basically it would also be conceivable to use the relative movement between the guide element and the ejection element, particularly in relation to large and heavy drawers, to assist the force storage means which acts on the ejection element, in ejecting the movable furniture portion. In that case the force storage means disposed between the ejection element and the guide element would have to be in the form of a compression spring.
In accordance with a further embodiment the drive device is arranged movably in a housing and the housing forms the base, in relation to which the drive device is movably guided. In that respect it has proven to be structurally simple if the guide track for the locking element is provided in a boundary surface of the housing. In other words the preferably heart-shaped guide track for the locking element is in the form of a through opening at a side face of the housing or disposed inwardly at a side face of the housing.
An inexpensive embodiment of the invention, which involves a low level of wear, further provides that the force storage means which acts on the drive device is formed by a spring, preferably a tension spring.
If, as a further embodiment of the invention provides, the drive device is mounted linearly movably in a housing and in that case the force storage means which acts on the drive device is mounted with its one end at the housing, preferably at an end of the housing, and with its other end at the locking element, wherein the ejection element is movable between the locking element and the mounting of the force storage means to the housing relative to the locking element that provides a particularly compact and space-saving structural unit for the drive device. For that purpose it has further proven to be desirable if the force storage means which acts on the drive device is formed by two tension springs which extend in parallel relationship and which engage over the drive device and between which is arranged the force storage means which is in the form of a damper and which acts on the locking element and the ejection element.
A particularly simple possible way of fixing the drive mechanism according to the invention to the furniture is afforded if the housing is of a substantially parallelepipedic configuration, wherein the bottom face is larger than the top face or vice-versa and is adapted for fixing the housing to the furniture item.
Although it would be basically possible for the ejection element to be allowed to strike at the end against the movable furniture portion, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the ejection element is of a substantially U-shaped configuration and has a laterally projecting abutment element for the movable furniture portion and the housing in which the drive device is linearly movably guided has in a side face an exit opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the housing for the abutment element of the ejection element.
A structurally simple and stable solution which provides that the guide element is safely and securely guided in the guide track provides that the locking element has a pivotably mounted locking lever on which there is arranged a guide projection for engagement into the guide track provided on the housing, wherein a particularly flat structure can be achieved for the drive device if the abutment element of the ejection element and the locking lever of the locking element lie substantially in a common plane.
In order to ensure that the movable furniture portion which is slowed down by means of the damping device is reliably moved into its closed end position after complete loading of the force storage means and locking thereof, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the drive mechanism, besides the force storage means for the drive device and the force storage means which is in the form of a damper and which is operative between the ejection element and the locking element further has a retraction device.
Further advantages and details of the invention are described more fully in the specific description hereinafter with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings in which:
a and 6b show a perspective view and an exploded view of the drive mechanism of
a and 7b show a perspective view and an exploded view of the drive mechanism of
a to 8d show diagrammatic views illustrating the principle of different positions of the embodiment of
In the first embodiment of a drive mechanism 1 according to the invention, diagrammatically shown in
The drive device 5 further has an abutment element 17 for coupling the drive device 5 to the movable furniture portion (also not shown).
The movable furniture portion is mounted movably in the furniture item by way of the drawer rail 12 of a drawer extension guide system, wherein coupling of the drawer rail 12 to the abutment element 17 of the drive device 5 is effected by way of an entrainment member which in this first embodiment is formed by the damping device 7.
A further embodiment is shown in
a and 6b show a perspective view and an exploded view of the embodiment of
Provided on the ejection element 9 is a laterally projecting abutment element 17, by way of which the drive mechanism 1 is coupled to the movable furniture portion 3.
The drive mechanism 1 shown in
The mode of operation of the drive device according to the invention is described hereinafter with reference to
In this case, the movable furniture portion which is not shown for the sake of clarity is just closed in
If now the movable furniture portion moves further in the closing direction SR the entrainment member 16 on the drawer rail 12 engages the abutment element 17 of the drive device 5 and entrains the ejection element 9 in the closing direction SR (
Then, as shown in
When the force storage means 6 is loaded and locked the movable furniture portion is moved into its closed end position by means of the retraction device 8 over the last part C of its closing movement against the active force of the force storage means 20.
Triggering of the drive device 5 and thus ejection of the movable furniture portion are effected using the per se known touch-latch principle, for which reason the opening process is not described in detail here.
It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Thus it would certainly be conceivable for the retraction device to be associated with the base, in relation to which the drive device is movable, particularly when the movable furniture portion is formed by a door or flap and the hinge does not have a closure mechanism. In that case it is necessary to arrange a retaining device, for example a magnet, between the abutment element of the ejection element and the movable furniture portion or the entrainment member of an extension guide system.
The illustrated embodiments of a drive mechanism for a furniture portion mounted movably in or at a furniture item as well as the described example of a possible method of opening and closing a movable furniture portion are obviously not to be interpreted in a restrictive sense but only as individual examples of numerous possible ways of implementing the concept of the invention of a drive mechanism for a furniture portion mounted movably in or at a furniture item.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| A 584/2006 | Apr 2006 | AT | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/AT2007/000110 | Mar 2007 | US |
| Child | 12285356 | US |
