Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a rotating element, a piece of furniture, and a method for positioning a translational-rotational fitting of a rotating element.
A generic rotating element in the form of a translationally and rotationally movable furniture element is known, for example, from DE 10 2019 109 866 A1.
The translational-rotational fitting of the rotating element known from the above-mentioned publication enables a collision-free translational-rotational movement out of a body of furniture surrounding the furniture element or also out of a corner of a room, whereby the rotating element reaches an open end position after completing a 180° rotation.
If, for example, two sides of a cuboid rotating element are covered by side walls or panels, this ensures reliable protection of the objects stored in the rotating element in the closed position and good accessibility of the objects once the rotating element has been rotated to its open end position.
Such a rotating element has proven itself in practice.
It has turned out to be problematic that the translational-rotational movement is tailored to a predetermined cross-sectional area of the rotating element, so that suitable translational-rotational fittings must be provided for different rotating elements with predetermined cross-sectional areas.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to further developing a rotating element of the type in such a way that a translational-rotational fitting can be used in rotating elements with different cross-sectional areas, viewed in the plane of the translational-rotational movement.
The rotating element according to the invention has a cuboid body with a base, a ceiling, and supporting elements, in particular posts and/or at least one side wall, connecting the base to the ceiling.
The rotating element also has at least one translational-rotational fitting, which is arranged on an underside of the base and/or on an upper side of the ceiling, with which the rotating element can be moved in a combined translational-rotational movement from an initial position into an open end position and back into the initial position.
The translational-rotational fitting itself has a base plate and a rotating plate that can be fixed to the base or ceiling and is guided in translation and rotation relative to the base plate.
The rotating plate can be moved relative to the base plate in such a way that during the translational-rotational movement the body does not cross two imaginary boundary lines in a predetermined angular range of 90° or 180°, which are formed by adjacent outer edges of the body aligned at right angles to each other in its starting position.
A positioning plate is located between the rotating plate and the base or ceiling of the cabinet.
The positioning plate can be attached to the rotating plate in various predetermined positions.
The predetermined positions are selected in such a way that, with or without panel(s) attached or fitted to the body, selected from a set of panels with predetermined material thicknesses which change the width and/or depth of the rotating element, adjacent outer edges of the rotating element which are aligned at right angles to one another and opposite the outer edges of the body lie on the imaginary boundary lines in the end opening position of the rotating element.
With such a rotating element according to the invention, the variable attachment option of the rotating plate to the base and/or the ceiling of the body of the rotating element now makes it possible to equip a body of such a rotating element with no or at least one panel of different material thickness and, if necessary, to position the translational-rotational fitting on the base and/or the ceiling after selecting the panel in such a way that a collision-free translational-rotational movement is possible, which is adapted to the material thickness of the panel(s) after selecting the panel, to position the translational-rotational fitting on the base and/or ceiling in such a way that a collision-free translational-rotational movement is possible, which is adapted to the material thickness of the panel(s) and realizes a uniform panel image to the adjacent furniture element. This also includes the omission of panels if the neighboring furniture element does not have a panel.
Ideally, the positioning plate can be attached directly to the base and/or ceiling during the pre-assembly of the rotating element itself. The rotating plate of the translational-rotational fitting is then attached to the positioning plate at a predetermined position after selecting the panel or omitting a panel.
For easy positioning of the rotating plate on the positioning plate, depending on the panel to be attached, the positioning plate and/or the rotating plate has several holes for receiving fastening means, in particular bolts or screws, in order to fix the positioning plate relative to the rotating plate in a suitable position depending on the material thickness of the at least one panel.
The holes can be arranged as a predetermined hole pattern in the positioning plate or the rotating plate, which are adapted to predetermined material thicknesses of different panels that can be mounted on the body of the rotating element.
As an alternative to such a plurality of holes, it is also conceivable according to an alternative embodiment that the positioning plate and/or the rotating plate has a plurality of latching receptacles for receiving at least one bolt in one of the latching receptacles in order to fix the positioning plate relative to the rotating plate in a suitable position against one another depending on the material thickness of the at least one panel or in the case of no panel.
In this case, the at least one bolt can be attached to the positioning plate or the rotating plate and the associated latching receptacle(s) to the other of the plates.
According to a preferred embodiment, the positioning plate is integrated into the cabinet, for example in an area below a visible shelf and/or a visible ceiling of the cabinet.
Such a variant is particularly suitable for industrial handling and processing technology, which results in the advantages of a standardized system.
For easy mounting of the positioning plate on the base and/or ceiling of the body, the positioning plate according to a further preferred embodiment has at least one mounting groove into which a bolt protruding from the base and/or ceiling can be inserted and locked.
To further stabilize the assembly, according to a further preferred design variant of the rotating element, one side edge of the rotating plate, positioning plate and base or ceiling components lying on top of each other is bordered by a profile.
According to an advantageous embodiment, this profile has a receptacle on the inside of a center wall, into which a latching lug formed on a lateral elevation of the positioning plate protrudes.
According to an alternative embodiment of the rotating element according to the invention, the rotating plate is arranged directly in the rotating element or on the base and/or ceiling of the body.
With this variant, the drilling positions for fixing the rotating plate to the base or ceiling can be selected depending on the material thickness of the panel or panels to be fitted. This can be done using a drilling template, a table of values, a computer program, or a mobile application.
This variant is particularly suitable for a manual design scope of the rotating element, in which the translational-rotational fitting and the body of the rotating element are considered separately.
According to a further embodiment of the rotating element according to the invention, the rotational portion of the movement between the starting position and the open end position is 90° or 180°.
The furniture according to the invention with a furniture body and a furniture element rotatably mounted in the furniture body is characterized in that the furniture element is designed as a rotating element as described above.
According to one embodiment of the furniture, at least one further furniture element is arranged adjacent to the rotating element, one of the outer edges of the rotating element opposite the outer edges of the body being aligned with a front surface of the further furniture element in the starting position of the rotating element.
In a case where a panel is arranged on a front side of the rotating element and a panel is arranged on a front side of the body of the additional furniture element, the material thickness of the panel(s) of the rotating element preferably corresponds to the material thickness of the panel of the additional furniture element.
The method according to the invention for positioning a translational-rotational fitting of the disclosed rotating element on the base or the ceiling of the body, wherein the width and depth of the body is equal to the width and depth of the bottom and the top, has the following method specifications:
With this method, the manual design of the rotating element in particular, in which the translational-rotational fitting and the body of the rotating element are considered separately from each other, can be carried out more easily, since on the one hand the use of panels with certain material thicknesses can be checked for feasibility before assembly and on the other hand the coordinates for holes to be drilled for suitable positioning of the translational-rotational fitting on the base and/or ceiling of the body are provided directly, thus enabling savings in material and working time.
In the following, preferred embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the following description of the figures, terms such as top, bottom, left, right, front, rear, etc. refer exclusively to the exemplary representation and position of the furniture, the rotating element, body, base, ceiling, rotating plate, positioning plate, panel and the like selected in the respective figures. These terms are not to be understood as restrictive, i.e. these references may change due to different working positions or the mirror-symmetrical design or the like.
In
The furniture 1 essentially consists of a furniture body 3 with one or more furniture elements 32, for example in the form of drawers or interior spaces closed by doors, as well as a ceiling 33 and a base (not provided here with a reference sign), which is supported, for example, by feet 35, which are covered at least on one front side and sides by a cover strip 36.
Furthermore, the furniture 1 has at least one cuboid rotating element 2 which, as a comparison of
The rotational component of the movement between the starting position and the open end position is preferably 90° (rotating element 2 with a square base) or 180° (rotating element 2 with a square or rectangular base).
As shown as an example in
The base 22, the ceiling 23 and the support elements together form a body 21 of the rotating element 2.
An exemplary translational-rotational fitting 4 is shown in
Alternatively, a translational-rotational fitting according to WO 2020 212 373 A1 or in another embodiment can also be arranged on an underside of the base and/or on an upper side of the ceiling.
With the translational-rotational fitting 4, the rotating element 2 can be moved in a combined translational-rotational movement from an initial position shown in
The translational-rotational fitting 4 has a base plate 41 and a rotating plate 42 that can be moved in translation and rotation relative to the base plate 41. The rotating plate 42 is fixed to the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23 of the rotating element 2. The base plate 41 is fixed in rotation to the base element 29 and/or the ceiling 33.
The rotating plate 42 can be moved relative to the base plate 41 in such a way that during the translational-rotational movement the body 21 does not cross two imaginary boundary lines in a predetermined angular range of 90° or 180°, which are formed by adjacent outer edges 2A of the body 21 aligned at right angles to one another in its starting position shown in
The relevant outer edges 2A of the body 21 are shown in
In one embodiment, as shown for example in
These predetermined positions are selected in such a way that, with or without panel(s) attached to the body 21, selected from a set of panels with predetermined material thicknesses d1, d2, which change the width and/or depth of the rotating element 2, adjacent outer edges 2B of the rotating element 2, which are aligned at right angles to one another and opposite the outer edges 2A of the body, lie on the imaginary boundary lines in the end opening position of the rotating element 2.
In other words, the rotating plate 42 can be variably positioned in predetermined positions relative to the body depending on the material thickness d1, d2 of the panel or panels 26 to be attached to the body 21 on the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23 such that, in a plane of the translational-rotational movement, a center point of the rotating element 2 with or without the panel 26 attached to the body 21 has the same surface coordinates in the starting position and the open end position.
This means that due to the variable positionability of the rotating plate 42 relative to the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23, panels of different material thicknesses can be attached to the body 21 of a rotating element 2 without having to use a special translational-rotational fitting 4 or having to provide a special body 21 depending on the material thickness of the panels 26.
For easy positioning of the positioning plate 5 on the rotating plate 42, the positioning plate 5 and/or the rotating plate 42 according to an exemplary embodiment shown in
In this way, the thicknesses of the panels 26 of the rotating element 2 can be easily adapted to the thicknesses of the panels 34 of the furniture elements 32 and at the same time an optimum movement of the rotating element 2 can be realized. The same also applies if the rotating element 2 and the furniture elements 32 do not have panels.
The positioning plate 5 is preferably integrated into the body 21.
For easy mounting of the positioning plate 5 on the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23 (shown in
The bolt 7, shown in detail in
A step 73 is formed at the transition between the shaft 71 and the bolt head 72, the diameter of which is adapted to the latching receptacle 54 in order to be able to detect the end position of the positioning plate 5 on the base 22 or the ceiling 23 by touch.
In the embodiment variant shown in
As can be seen in
As shown in
The profile 8 is designed, for example, as an aluminum profile. The profile 8 essentially has two parallel legs, a first leg 81 and a second leg 82, which are connected to each other at one end by a middle wall 83 and thus form a U-shaped receptacle for the above-mentioned components.
As further shown in
As a result, the profile 8 is securely fixed to the components lying on top of each other. As a comparison of
In an alternative embodiment, the rotating plate 42 is arranged directly on the base 22 or the ceiling 23 of the body 21.
To fix the rotating plate 42 to the base 22 or the ceiling 23 of the body 21, holes are drilled in the base 22 or the ceiling 23 in order to fix the rotating plate 42 to the base 22 or the ceiling 23 at the position provided for this purpose.
For example, a drilling template, a table of values, a computer program, or a mobile application can be used to determine the optimum arrangement of the rotating plate 42 in relation to the base 22 or ceiling 23 depending on the material thickness d1, d2 of the selectable panels 26.
Accordingly, a method for positioning a translational-rotational fitting 4 of the rotating element 2 has the following method specifications:
First, one or more panel(s) 26 is/are selected from a set of panels with predetermined material thicknesses d1, d2.
The selected material thickness d1, d2 of the panel(s) and the width and depth of the body 21 are then entered into a computer program input interface.
The computer program can be installed on a PC or a mobile device, for example as an application. The computer program can be suitable for displaying or visualizing the entered data to display the furniture in an interactive virtual environment (virtual reality) or a mixture of real and virtual environments (AR: augmented reality).
The system then checks whether the selected panel(s) for the selected body 21 are within a predetermined material thickness range.
The coordinates of the holes to be drilled in the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23 are then calculated if the result of the check is positive.
The calculated data is output via an output interface of the computer program so that the holes can then be inserted at the calculated coordinates of the base 22 and/or the ceiling 23 and the attachment of the translational-rotational fitting 4 to the base and/or ceiling 23 of the body 21 at the calculated coordinates can be carried out.
When using a computer program or a mobile application, all necessary parameters, such as dimensions of the base element 29, dimensions of the body 21, thickness of the side walls 25, thickness of the panels 26 etc. can be entered, and the position of the holes in the base 22 or in the ceiling 23 can be output after the calculation.
This makes it much easier to install the rotating element 2.
This computer program can also detect possible collisions caused by the use of unsuitable body dimensions and panel thicknesses in advance, thus preventing a malfunction on the mounted rotating element 2.
In this example, the base plate 41 is arranged on a base element 29 with feet 28 for placing the rotating element 2 on a room base. The bottom section of the rotating element 2 can be attached to the furniture body 3 or the other furniture elements 32 via the base element 29.
Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by way of preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the examples disclosed, and other variations can be derived from these by the person skilled in the art without leaving the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that there is a plurality of possible variations. It is also clear that embodiments stated by way of example are only really examples that are not to be seen as limiting the scope, application possibilities or configuration of the invention in any way. In fact, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete manner, wherein, with the knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, the person skilled in the art is able to undertake various changes, for example, with regard to the functioning or arrangement of individual elements stated in an exemplary embodiment without leaving the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2021 133 995.2 | Dec 2021 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2022/086843 | 12/20/2022 | WO |