The invention concerns a furniture item with a movable furniture part and an ejection device which has an ejection element to move the movable furniture part out of a closed position into a first open position, and an actuator with an energy accumulator. Furthermore, a process for opening and closing the new type of furniture item will be proposed.
Furniture items of this type are known already in the state of the art in which typical ejection devices are designated as so-called “touch-latch” mechanisms. These require pressure (a touch) to be applied, for example, to the movable furniture part, a switch, button or something of that nature to unlatch the ejection device, which has the effect of moving the movable furniture part by means of the ejection element from its closed position into a first open position. If the actuator comprises a manually loaded energy accumulator, the loading of the latter is usually effected when the furniture item is closed. It has been found that an unsatisfactory aspect of this state of the art is that the user has only part of the closure path immediately by the closed position to load the energy accumulator.
The invention sets out, therefore, to propose an improved version of the furniture item in question which will avoid the drawbacks recognized in the state of the art. The proposal will include a process for opening and closing the new type of furniture item.
The invention resolves this task by providing a means of moving one or more ejection elements beyond of the first open position.
In the case of actuators generally comprising a manually loaded energy accumulator, preferably a tension spring, to preload the energy accumulator, the ejection element on which the accumulator acts over a part of the closure path is in contact with either the movable furniture part or with the furniture body, depending on whether the ejection device is arranged on the furniture body or on the movable furniture part. In those ejection devices known up to the present time, this contact action occurs in the section of the opening or closing path of the movable furniture part located between the closed end position and the first open position of the movable furniture part whereby the first open position of the movable furniture part corresponds to the position of the ejection element after the end of the ejection process. This means that the user, when closing the movable furniture part, may just move it slightly to reach the first open position before having to apply additional pressure in the last section of the closing path to load the energy accumulator.
In contrast, in the furniture item according to the invention, an arrangement is proposed whereby, once the ejection process has ended, the ejection element is moved beyond the first open position of the furniture part, and the partial section of the closing path in which the ejection element is in contact with the movable furniture part, or furniture body as the case may be, to load the energy accumulator, is displaced in the direction of the opened end position. This means that, immediately after or simultaneous with the start of the closing motion of the movable furniture part, the user begins to load the energy accumulator of the actuator and, at the end of the loading process, has then to apply a small force to move the movable furniture part into its closed end position. This will give the user the impression that the closure of the movable furniture part is a completely smooth closing motion.
According to a first design example of the invention, the means directly or indirectly contacting or contactable with the ejection element provided to move at least one ejection element through the first open position are arranged on the movable furniture part regardless of whether the movable furniture part is in the form of a door, lid or drawer.
This lends itself to a simple design whereby the means include at least a first part arranged on the movable furniture part and at least a second part arranged on the ejection element such that they exert a magnetic attractive force on one another. Other solutions are possible, naturally. Thus, it is possible, for example, that the first part could be formed as a hinged rod arranged on the movable furniture part and the second part of the means could be arranged, for example, in the form of a longitudinal guide on the ejection element.
According to another design example of the invention, the means directly or indirectly contacting or contactable with the ejection element provided to move at least one ejection element beyond the first open position are arranged on the furniture body and/or in or on the ejection device. A preferred design example according to the invention provides that the actuator in addition to the ejection device has at least one additional auxiliary actuator which constitutes the means for moving the ejection element during the opening of the movable furniture part beyond the first open position.
A simple but nevertheless sturdy solution for this is if the auxiliary actuator is an energy accumulator, preferably manually loaded and preferably a pressure spring.
Although it would also be conceivable to configure the movement of the ejection element beyond the first open position to be independent of the movement of the movable furniture part, a technically simple solution is achieved if the one (or more) ejection element in the ejection device stays in contact or follows the movable furniture part in at least one part section of the opening or closing path of the movable furniture part situated between the first open position and the closed end position. Beneficially, the one (or more) ejection element in the ejection device is in contact with the movable furniture part during 50%, or preferably 80%, of the opening or closing path of the movable furniture part.
According to an alternative design version of the invention, it is arranged that the means for moving the ejection element during the opening of the movable furniture part through the first open position which is directly or indirectly linked with the ejection element is fitted to the furniture body and/or to the ejection device.
Regardless of whether the ejection element is arranged on the furniture body or on the movable furniture part so that it moves linearly or rotates, a further design example of the invention provides that the furniture part is located translationally movable in or on the furniture body, for example in the form of a drawer. According to another design example of the invention, the movable furniture part can, however, be located rotationally movable in or on the furniture body, again regardless of whether the ejection element is arranged on the furniture body or on the movable furniture part so that it moves linearly or rotates.
This means that the invention is suitable for all conceivable combinations of a movable furniture part with an ejection element, as long as it is ensured that the location of the ejection element changes in relation to its starting position with a latched ejection device in the first open position, i.e., after completion of the ejection process and at the start of the loading process. In other words, the distance between the contact point of the ejection element in the starting position and the contact point in its position after the end of the ejection process on the one hand, and the distance between the contact point of the ejection element in the starting position and the contact point in its position after the end of the opening process on the other hand must be different.
A preferred design example is characterised by a rotatable ejection element whereby there is a difference between the opening angle of the ejection element in its position after the end of the ejection process in the first open position of the movable furniture part on the one hand, and the opening angle of the ejection element in its position after the end of the opening process in the opened end position of the movable furniture part on the other.
In the case where the movable furniture part is pivotably supported, the maximum opening angle of the ejection element is favorably approximately equal (as close as possible) to the maximum opening angle of the movable furniture part, whereby the ejection element can follow the movable furniture part substantially during the entire opening path of the movable furniture part.
According to a further preferred design version of the invention, the ejection device is formed to at least partly load the energy accumulator of the actuator for the ejection element during a closing movement of the movable furniture part in a part section of the opening or closing path of the movable furniture part located between the opened end position and the first open position. Thus, the closing of the movable furniture part is quiet and smooth if the ejection device is constructed to start the loading process of the energy accumulator in general with each closing movement of the movable furniture part, preferably regardless of the position of the movable furniture part.
If, in this alternative design, the ejection element is pivoted, it can be further arranged that there is a difference between the opening angle of the ejection element at the end of the ejection process in the first open position of the movable furniture part on the one hand, and the angle at the start of the loading process of the energy accumulator on the other, or, respectively, the distance between the contact point of the ejection element in the home position and the contact point at the end of the ejection process on the one hand, and the distance between the contact point of the ejection element in the home position and the contact point at the start of the loading process of the energy accumulator, on the other.
According to a preferred example of the invention, the ejection device has a pivoted ejection element and a latchable actuator, preferably a coil tension spring, which interact with a transmission device, preferably a gear train. A simple means can be arranged whereby the ejection element is linked to the actuator through a link element and has a section with gear teeth that is formed to engage with a driving pinion secured to a bearing element which can rotate. This method can save space if at least the ejection element, the bearing element for the driving pinion and the link element are arranged coaxially.
Latching of the ejection device can be arranged, for example, by using a detent or a catch guided in a heart-shaped slide track, as provided for in a further design example according to the invention, via an elbow lever and/or a dead point mechanism.
The free running needed between the driving pinion and the link element to move the ejection element beyond the first open position is arranged in a further design example according to the invention, in which one arm of the elbow lever is pivoted at its free end with the link element. The dead point mechanism has a lever which is pivoted at one end with the elbow of the elbow lever and at the other end pivoted with a curved coupling element, whereby the curved coupling element is secured, preferably coaxially with the link element, so that it will rotate.
It is necessary in loading the energy accumulator to eliminate free movement between the coupling element and the pinion to be able to transfer the force acting on the ejection element to the link element. According to a design example of the invention, this is achieved by connecting the driving pinion, so that it will not turn, to a coaxial brake disk whereby the brake disk is shaped so that it is in contact at its perimeter with the curved coupling element. This means that, immediately following or at the start of the closing process of the movable furniture part, the brake disk is brought into contact at its perimeter with the curved coupling element, thus blocking the rotation of the pinion, and the force of the movable furniture part, which is closing, acting on the ejection element is transferred to the link element, a process which loads the energy accumulator.
A simple configuration of the ejection device is provided according to a preferred design example if the ejection device is arranged in a housing with an outlet aperture at least for the ejection element. The housing can then be fitted simply in a suitable location either on the movable furniture part or on the furniture body.
To ensure that the movable furniture part always reaches the same first open position at the end of the closing process, it is necessary to define the opening angle of the ejection element in the first open position. The opening angle is achieved by a preferred design example in which at least one stop for the bearing element of the actuating pinion is arranged in the housing, whereby the bearing element rests on the stop in the first open position of the movable furniture part.
A further design example of the invention provides that the means to move the ejection element beyond the first open position is in the form of a preferably curved leaf spring whose first leg engages with the ejection element and whose second leg engages with the link element. In this case, the movable furniture part must be held against the force of the preferably curved leaf spring in its closed end position which can be achieved by a retracting device or a hinge.
According to another example, the means to move the ejection element beyond the first open position is in the form of a spiral spring whose first leg engages with the ejection element and whose second leg, preferably rotatable and held in position, engages with the housing. With an appropriate arrangement of the spiral spring, a form of snap mechanism can be produced such that the spiral or torsion spring holds the ejection element in the exit position but trips when unlatching the energy accumulator and forces the ejection element in the opening direction of the movable furniture part.
According to a further design example of the invention, the ejection device also has a release mechanism with a release element to unlatch the actuator. A preferred design example in this case provides that the release mechanism is configured for the release element to rest in direct contact on the movable furniture part or the furniture body in the closed position of the movable furniture part, in order to precisely define the release path.
Furthermore, it is intended to propose a process for opening and, as the case may be, closing a movable furniture part located in or on a furniture body of a furniture item using an ejection device which has an ejection element which is contacted, or can be contacted, by a latchable actuator, preferably a manually loaded energy accumulator. The latchable actuator is loaded during the closing movement of the movable furniture part by an ejection element which is characterised according to the invention in that the loading process of the energy accumulator is started, after the movable furniture part had been opened, beyond a first open position during a closing movement of the movable furniture part in a part section of the opening, or closing, path of the movable furniture part between the first open position and the closed end position.
In contrast to the state of the art, therefore, the loading process of the energy accumulator is begun right at the start of the closing movement of the movable furniture part whereby, according to a preferred design example of the invention, the loading process for the energy accumulator is started in general with each closing movement of the movable furniture part, preferably independent of the open position of the movable furniture part. In other words, the loading of the energy accumulator occurs based on the ratchet principle, i.e., after the end of the ejection process, the ejection element is free to move in relation to the energy accumulator during the further opening path while, in the reverse direction, it is in constant contact, in every position, with the energy accumulator.
Other benefits and details of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description of the figures, referring to the design examples illustrated in the drawings, in which:
a-2d show in each case, the movable furniture part and the ejection element in different positions,
a-3c are diagrammatic representations of different positions of the movable furniture part,
a-4c are diagrammatic representations of different positions of the ejection element,
a is an exploded view of a preferred example of an ejection device according to the invention,
b is a rear view of the upper part of the ejection element from
a-15 show different positions of the movable furniture part and the ejection device from
a is an exploded view of a second example of an ejection device according to the invention,
b is a rear view of the upper part of the ejection element from
a shows a plan view of a detail of the furniture item 1 shown in
The invention now takes over where the movable furniture part 3 is positioned as shown in
d shows both the movable furniture part 3 as well as the ejection element 5 in the completely open position whereby the condition in which the ejection element 5 is no longer in contact with the movable furniture part 3 in the fully open position is simply a simplification of the design of the ejection device. Naturally it is also possible, however, to locate the ejection element 5 in the ejection device such that the ejection element 5 rests on the movable furniture part 3 in the fully open position.
Different positions of the movable furniture part 3 are illustrated in
It should be pointed out that the opened end position E does not necessarily have to be the completely open position of the movable furniture part 3—as shown in
Similarly,
If
A basic idea of the invention consists of sending the ejection element 5, after the end of the ejection process, to, viewed in the opening direction, a position E′ located beyond position O′ which represents the position of the ejection element 5 after the end of the opening process of the movable furniture part 3. This is done by linking the movable furniture part 3 right at the start or immediately after the start of the closing process with the ejection element 5, whereby, with an appropriate linking of the ejection element 5 with the ejection device, the loading process for the energy accumulator can begin as early as the first section of the closing path, during which the loading of the energy accumulator can be completed using known devices in the part section of the closing path of the movable furniture part 3 immediately before the closed position.
This means that, essentially, the whole of the path traveled by the movable furniture part as it closes can now be used to load the energy accumulator. This is due to the invention and the construction of the ejection device using the ratchet principle such that the ejection element, at the end of the ejection process, is free to move in relation to the energy accumulator of the actuator during the further opening path, during which it is in constant contact, i.e., in every position, with the energy accumulator in the opposite direction. Thus, on the one hand, the path traveled by the movable furniture part as the energy accumulator is being loaded can be made greater than the path traveled by the movable furniture part during the ejection process, so that a user requires less force to load the energy accumulator due to the lengthened path.
A second possibility is to make the length of the path traveled by the movable furniture part during the charging and ejection processes essentially the same but to move this section to the immediate vicinity of the opened end position of the opening and closing path of the movable furniture part. The result of this is that the user will apply a force to load the energy accumulator right at the start of the closing process, giving the user the feeling of a smooth process when closing the movable furniture part.
Using two of the design examples presented in
a shows an exploded view of a first example of an ejection device 4 according to the invention. All parts of the inventive ejection device 4 are arranged in an enclosed housing 20, whereby the housing cover is not shown to allow a clear overall view. The rotatable ejection element 5 arranged in the housing 20 is in the form of a single-arm lever and has an upper part 27 and a lower part 27′. A rotatable roller 29 is arranged on its end furthest from the pivot point, whereby the axes of rotation of the roller 29 and the ejection element 5 are essentially parallel. This roller 29 provides the means of linking the ejection element 5 with the movable furniture part.
A bearing element 13, a coupling element 16 and a link element 14 are also rotatable and arranged coaxially with the ejection element 5 between the lower part 27′ and the upper part 27. A pinion 12 and a brake disk 19, connected together and unable to rotate relative to each other, are anchored and can rotate about an axis which is essentially parallel to the rotation axis of the ejection element 5 or, respectively, that of the bearing element 13. The pinion 12 is constructed so that it engages with a toothed section (gear teeth) Z (
In the example shown, the means to move the ejection element 5 through a first open position comprise two auxiliary actuators 23, 23′ whereby the first auxiliary actuator 23′ in the form of a spiral spring bears on the bearing element 13 in the opening direction. Movement is restricted by a stop 22 arranged in the housing, which allows the required freedom of movement for the ejection element 5 between the brake disk 19 and the coupling element 16. The second auxiliary actuator 23 is in the form of a torsion spring whose first leg 24 engages with the upper part 27 of the ejection element 5 while the second leg 24′ is rotatable but fixed in position to the housing 20 of the ejection device 4.
Furthermore, the actuator 6 for the ejection element 5 is arranged in the ejection device 4, where the actuator 6 has a manually loaded energy accumulator 8 in the form of a tension spring, a retainer 7 for the energy accumulator 8 and an adjusting element 9 to adjust the energy accumulator 8. The adjusting element 9 is arranged in the housing 20 such that it is accessible externally to make adjustment of the energy accumulator 8 simple and uncomplicated. At its open end, the energy accumulator 8 constructed as a tension spring for the actuator 6 is hooked over a projection 10 on the link element 14, so that, as the energy accumulator 8 discharges, the link element 14 is moved in the direction of the actuator 6.
The actuator 6 is latched, in the design example shown, by an elbow lever 17 and a dead point mechanism. In this system, the first arm 18 of the elbow lever 17 is pivoted at its free end with the link element 14, while the second arm 18′ is pivoted to the housing 20 of the ejection device 4. The dead point mechanism comprises a pivoted lever 15 and is connected at one end to the elbow of the elbow lever 17 and at the other end, also pivoted, to the coupling element 16. The actuator 6 is latched, when charging the energy accumulator 8 by the ejection element 5, when the link element, due to its engagement with the brake disk 19 and with the coupling element 16 of the link element 14 is moved so far to the right until the energy accumulator 8 is fully loaded and the lever 15 crosses the dead point of the elbow lever 17, which latches the elbow lever 17, and, therefore, the link element 14.
The actuator 6 is unlatched by a release mechanism 25 which comprises a release element 26, an eccentric rotating element 33, a restoring spring 32 for the rotating element 33, a wedge-shaped adjusting element 34, a release lever 35, a damping element 36 and a restoring element 37, contacted by the damping element 36, to restore the rotating element 33. The release mechanism 25 is linked to the lever 15 of the dead point mechanism by a connecting part 38, preferably in the form of a lever, which can rotate at one end with the release lever 35 and at the opposite end with the lever 15 of the dead point mechanism, or, respectively, the coupling element 16.
a shows the ejection device 4 with the energy accumulator 8 in the latched condition. The movable furniture part 3 is in the closed position whereby the release element 26 of the release mechanism 25 rests directly on to the movable furniture part 3. More will be explained later about the direct contact of the release element 26 with the movable furniture part 3 which is essentially accomplished by means of the wedge-shaped adjusting element 34 which is contacted by the restoring element 37.
The view of the device is clarified by omitting the cover of the housing 20 and the upper part 27 of the ejection element 5 from the drawing. In the situation shown, the energy accumulator 8 for the actuator 6 is loaded. This means that the tension spring which constitutes the energy accumulator 8 is anchored in the retainer 7 and tensioned by the link element 14. On its front side facing the movable furniture part 3, the housing 20 has an exit aperture 21 for the ejection element 5 and the release element 26. All of the remaining components of the ejection device 4 are contained inside the enclosed housing 20 except the adjusting element 9 for the energy accumulator 8.
The energy accumulator 8 is latched by means of an elbow lever 17 acting on the link element 14 where the lever 17 is latched in the position shown by a lever 15 in a dead point mechanism. The ejection element 5 is latched in its home position S′ by the auxiliary actuator 23 constructed as a torsion spring. In this, the auxiliary actuator 23 is arranged such that the one leg 24′ of the spring is arranged in a bearing point 40 in the housing and the second leg 24 of the auxiliary actuator 23 is arranged in a bearing point 39 on the lower part 27′ of the ejection element 5 so that they swivel.
By locating the bearing point 39, with the ejection element 5 in the home position, on the right side of the connecting line V of the pivot point of the ejection element 5 and the bearing point 40 (
In the position shown, therefore, the link element 14, the coupling element 16 and the ejection element 5 are not free to move due to the latched elbow lever 17 or, respectively, the position of the second auxiliary actuator 23, while the bearing element 13 and, thus, the pinion 12 and the brake disk 19 can rotate. In this, the bearing element 13 is contacted by the first auxiliary actuator 23′ formed as a curved spring which forces the bearing element in the opening direction of the movable furniture part whereby the teeth on the pinion 12 engage with the toothed section (gear teeth) Z of the upper part 27 of the ejection element 5.
By having the bearing element 13 forced away from the coupling element 16 by the first auxiliary actuator 23′, the required freedom of movement can be obtained between the coupling element 16 and the brake disk 19 during the opening process. If this brake disk 19 were to engage with the tooth-shaped section (gear teeth) Z′ of the coupling element 16 during the opening process, this would block the pinion 12 and, thus, the ejection element 5 as a result, that is, the ejection of the movable furniture part 3 by the ejection element 5 would not have been possible in this type of configuration.
b differs from
Even though the illustrated release mechanism represents a preferred design example, the invention is not to be seen as restricted to the design example shown. To this end, instead of using the movable furniture part 3 to release the ejection device, it is completely possible and conceivable to do this by means of a switch, a button or by direct pressure on the release element 26 itself.
In
The bearing element 13, still being forced by the auxiliary actuator 23′ in the opening direction OR, is prevented from moving further outwards by the stop 22 (
It is further evident from
It is, of course, also possible to make the acting force of the second auxiliary actuator 23 so large that the second auxiliary actuator 23 would not only be able to move the ejection element 5 but also the movable furniture part 3 beyond the first open position O to an opened end position E. A construction of this type would lead to the situation where the user, in closing the movable furniture part 3, would have to apply, in addition to the force to load the energy accumulator 8, a relatively large force to load the auxiliary actuator 23 which would give the user the impression of a movable furniture part which is stiff to move. Nevertheless, if the level of the acting force by the second auxiliary actuator 23 is appropriate, a furniture item 1 with a movable furniture part 3 and an ejection device 4 can be produced where the user, in moving the movable furniture part 3 from a closed position to an opened end position, simply has to release the ejection device 4 by, for instance, applying pressure to the movable furniture part whereby the movable furniture part 3 would then be moved through a first distance by the ejection element 5 and through a further distance by the auxiliary actuator 23 to its opened end position E without requiring any further action on the part of the user.
By contrast, in the example shown, the force exerted by the second auxiliary actuator 23 is just enough for the ejection element 5 to stay in contact with the movable furniture part 3 such that the user is scarcely aware, when closing the movable furniture part, of the force applied to load the second auxiliary actuator 23.
An opened end position E of the movable furniture part 3 is illustrated in
If the movable furniture part 3 is now moved from its opened end position E in the closing direction SR, the brake disk 19 is brought into engagement with the toothed section Z′ of the coupling element 16, as shown in
As shown in
b differs from
Moreover, as can be seen in
In
In
In
The configuration shown in
a, as in
The second example shown in
As in the first example, the release mechanism 25 has a release element 26, an eccentric rotating element 33 and a damper 36, whereby the damper 36 comprises a bearing 42, a rotary damper 43 and a pinion 44. Differing from the first design example, the release element 26 in the second design example is connected directly to the eccentric rotating element 33 via a rolling contact joint. The release mechanism 25 is connected to the coupling element 16 via a lever-type link 38 which, however, is pivoted at one of its ends to the bearing 42 on the damper 36. This means that the bearing 42, or rotating damper 43 respectively, in the second design example assumes the function of the release lever 35, or restoring element 37 respectively, in the first design example.
The lever-type link 38 is no longer pivoted at its opposite end with the coupling element 16. Instead, a notched end 45 is arranged at the free end of the lever-type link 38 which is formed to engage with a projection 46 formed on the coupling element 16. The coupling element 16, for its part, is pivoted with the lever 15 of the dead point mechanism for the elbow lever 17.
In contrast to the first example, the second design example has just one auxiliary actuator 23, formed as a curved spring and acting between the link element 14 and the ejection element 5. The difference extends to the construction of the peripheral surface of the brake disk 19 and the corresponding section Z′ on the coupling element 16. Whereas in the first example engagement between the brake disk 19 and the coupling element 16 was positive due to the toothed design, in the second example the brake disk 19 and the coupling element 16 form a friction contact with one another.
The ejection element 5 is locked in its home position S by the hinge 28. The link element 14, the coupling element 16 and the ejection element 5 are not free to move due to the locked elbow lever 17 and the movable furniture part 3 held in its closed position by the hinge 28, while the bearing element 13 and, thus, the pinion 12 as well as the brake disk 19 can rotate. The freedom of movement required for free motion between the coupling element 16 and the brake disk 19 is provided by simply having a stop 22′ for the bearing element 13 in the housing 20.
In this example, it must be ensured that the retention force of the hinge is greater than the force exerted by the auxiliary actuator 23 which maintains the ejection element 5 in permanent contact in the opening direction OR with the movable furniture part 3.
b differ only in that the upper part 27 of the ejection element 5 is shown transparently (dotted line). Otherwise, pressure is being exerted in
In
In order to allow the eccentric rotating element 33 which, during the opening process is moved to the left by the catch 41 on the ejection element 5, to return to a position once the catch 41 has passed, in which the catch 41 can again engage with the eccentric rotating element 33 when closing the movable furniture part 3, a restoring spring 32 in the form of a compression spring is arranged between the housing 20 and the eccentric rotating element 33.
An opened end position E of the movable furniture part 3 is illustrated in
b relates to the position of the ejection device 4 shown in
If the movable furniture part 3 is now moved from its opened end position in the closing direction SR, the brake disk 19 is brought into engagement with the toothed section Z′ of the coupling element 16, as shown in
b again shows an alternative in which the peripheral surface of the brake disk 19 and the corresponding section Z′ of the coupling element 16 are toothed. It can be seen that the action of the guide 30 ensures that the brake disk 19 and the toothed section Z′ of the coupling element 16 engage with each other such that each tooth tip of the brake disk 19 engages with each tooth root on the toothed section Z′ of the coupling element 16 which is able to prevent any jerky movements of the ejection element 5 and, thus, of the movable furniture part 3.
Moreover, as can be seen in
In
In
In
The configuration shown in
The design examples shown should not, of course, be regarded as limiting but rather simply as individual samples of innumerable possibilities for inventive concepts for producing a movable furniture part with an ejection element by means of which the movable furniture part is moved further in the opening direction after the end of the ejection process.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A 717/2005 | Apr 2005 | AT | national |
This application is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 11/976,757 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,887,147), filed Oct. 26, 2007, which is a Continuation application of PCT/AT2006/000175, filed Apr. 28, 2006.
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1334712 | Olson | Mar 1920 | A |
1389981 | Randall | Sep 1921 | A |
3674329 | Schill | Jul 1972 | A |
4978152 | Bisbing | Dec 1990 | A |
6338536 | Ueno et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6711856 | Hoffman | Mar 2004 | B1 |
20040055221 | Hoffman | Mar 2004 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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1778452 | Oct 1971 | DE |
20 2004 007 168 | Sep 2004 | DE |
1 314 842 | May 2003 | EP |
1157149 | Jul 1969 | GB |
2-40831 | Sep 1990 | JP |
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Entry |
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English translation of European Search Report issued Feb. 22, 2012 in corresponding European Application No. 10 00 9168. |
International Search Report issued Oct. 10, 2006 in International (PCT) Application PCT/AT2006/000175. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110031857 A1 | Feb 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11976757 | Oct 2007 | US |
Child | 12910038 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/AT2006/000175 | Apr 2006 | US |
Child | 11976757 | US |