The invention relates to the field of furniture systems and proposes a solution to improve the accessibility of storage compartments arranged at height.
More precisely, the present invention relates to a system for removing and making accessible the contents of a storage compartment, such as a storage compartment provided in a kitchen cupboard located at height.
Known from the state of the art are many types of storage compartments intended to be integrated into cupboards, such as drawers, having devices, typically based on arrangements of rails and slides, to make the contents of these compartments accessible.
However, whether these storage compartments are made accessible by means of drawers, or by means of rails, doors, hatches, including being equipped with means of assistance such as pneumatic cylinders or electric motors, it is well known that accessibility to the all of volume of a storage compartment located at height is often problematic.
In particular, access to all the contents of such a storage compartment is difficult. Usually, it is normal, for users, to go up to the height of the storage compartment, for example using a small stepladder, which is often inconvenient, or even dangerous.
In this general context, the state of the art has evolved to propose solutions developed to facilitate access to storage compartments at height. For example, document FR1006941 describes a system of furniture comprising removable storage compartments.
Moreover, document EP1820420 describes a device representative of what is today concretely accessible to the public.
However, these known devices have many disadvantages. Indeed, in non-motorised devices, use is generally made of a deformable parallelogram system, which means leaving all the space close to the inner side walls of the furniture available for its movement in operation. This usage prevents the conventional fixing of shelves in addition to said systems.
Consequently, certain known devices plan for all the contents of furniture, forming a storage compartment comprising elements arranged at height, come to be displaced vertically. From this it stems naturally that the weight potentially displaced is considerable and that the structure consequently has to be dimensioned, with high associated complexity, cost and bulk.
Furthermore, the use of parallelograms requires the addition of restoring elements, such as springs or cylinders, to counter the effect of gravity. In particular a difficulty remains in managing the balance of these two forces—the restoring and gravity forces. Indeed, if the restoring force generated by the restoring elements is too weak, it will be difficult to return the loaded device to high position. Conversely, if the restoring force is too great, it becomes necessary, when empty, to produce an effort to lower the storage compartment and to maintain the device in low position.
Naturally, the greater the potential weight of the items to be placed in such a storage compartment, the more the compromise between these two extremes is difficult to determine.
Thus there is a need for a system enabling optimised accessibility to the contents of difficult to access storage compartments, especially located at height, using modular and adaptable means. In this context, the system according to the invention constitutes a lightweight and economical solution for removing and making accessible to view and for handling the contents of storage compartments, without requiring lifting means.
Use of the system according to the invention thus enables the height of storage spaces to be increased without hindering their accessibility.
There are several applications of the system according to the invention. Hereinafter, the system according to the invention is mainly described in the context of an application to a storage compartment suspended at height. However, the present invention can also be implemented to make accessible the contents of a storage compartment located above an occupied unit but having to remain fully available, thus making useable, for example, the volume located above an oven located at the height of a worktop.
The present invention also comprises an embodiment wherein the system forms a module suitable to be stacked with similar modules, such that each module can operate coherently, to facilitate access to the storage compartments arranged one above the other.
More precisely, the object of the present invention is a system for removing and making accessible the contents of a storage compartment moving in relation to a fixed furniture support, the fixed furniture support having an opposed front and back, the storage compartment having an opposed front and back, the back of the storage compartment being of the same side as the back of the fixed furniture support in a returned position of said storage compartment, access to the storage compartment being made from the front, the system being notable in that it comprises:
The system according to the invention has the advantage of facilitating the accessibility of storage compartments, in particular suspended at height and integrated into furniture supports such as kitchen furniture. Moreover, the system according to the invention is designed to be able to be manufactured with a minimum of parts, which has an interest in terms of reliability and reduced production. Also, the system according to the invention can easily be integrated into existing furniture units.
According to one embodiment, the first means of guiding and/or the second means of guiding comprise a withdrawable rail.
According to one embodiment, the first means of guiding comprises horizontal rails, said horizontal rails comprising a curved or inclined termination section, attached to the side walls of the fixed furniture support, on either side of the storage compartment, and support rollers attached to the furniture support, and the first means of following comprises slides arranged on each side of the storage compartment and suited to work together with the support rollers, as well as top rollers attached to the storage compartment, on either side of said storage compartment, said top rollers being suited to work together with the horizontal rails, said slides and said top rollers attached to the storage compartment working together respectively with said support rollers and said horizontal rails attached to the furniture support to ensure the guiding in horizontal translation of the storage compartment.
According to an advanced embodiment, the second means of guiding comprises vertical rails attached to the front of the fixed furniture support and/or the vertical rails intended to be deployed to the front of the fixed furniture support, on either side of the storage compartment, and the second means of following comprises said top rollers as well as the bottom rollers attached to the storage compartment, on either side of said storage compartment, said top and bottom rollers being suited to work together with said vertical rails to ensure the guiding in vertical translation of the storage compartment, the termination section of the horizontal rails being configured to enable the transfer and engagement of said top rollers in the vertical rails and openings being arranged in said vertical rails to enable the passage of the bottom rollers and the engagement of said bottom rollers in the vertical rails.
Advantageously, the system according to the invention can comprise switching means to maintain the top rollers in the mean of vertical guiding during vertical translation of the storage compartment.
According to one embodiment, the system also comprises means of braking suited to soften the descent of the storage compartment along the second means of guiding.
According to one embodiment, the system also comprises means of compensation for the weight of the storage compartment.
Moreover, according to one embodiment, the system also comprises means of motorisation.
According to one embodiment, the second means of guiding is retractable and consists in rails folded inside the fixed furniture support in returned position of the storage compartment and configured to be deployed at the same time as the horizontal translation of the storage compartment, so as to be found in vertical position, at the front of the furniture support, when the second means of following reaches the front of the fixed furniture support and works together with said second means of guiding.
It should be noted that said retractable rails, once deployed, can be found in slightly inclined position in relation to the vertical, to favour their coming out of the furniture support.
According to one embodiment, the second means of guiding comprises a hanging or retractable extension.
According to one embodiment, the second means of guiding is formed of two vertical rails, on either side of the storage compartment, said vertical rails comprising two separate tracks, and the first and second means of following consist in two pairs of rollers formed from a top roller and a bottom roller, respectively, on either side of the storage compartment, each track of each vertical rail working together one with the top roller, and the other with the bottom roller, said top and bottom rollers, on either side of the storage compartment, being located on vertically separate axes.
According to one embodiment, the system according to the invention is configured to form a module that can be stacked with other similar systems configured to form compatible modules.
The invention will be best understood on reading the description that follows, given only as an example, and making with reference to the appended drawings in which:
It should be noted that the figures exhibit the invention in a detailed way to enable its implementation, said figures can of course also be used to better define the invention.
The invention is mainly presented in view of integration of the system with furniture systems, especially for the kitchen. In particular, the present invention targets a system of making accessible the contents of storage compartments, suspended at height or located above equipment having to remain accessible. However, other applications are also targeted by the present invention, when the means of the system described hereafter makes accessibility possible of the contents of a storage compartment, especially by means of a displacement comprising at least one horizontal translation and one vertical translation.
For the purposes of clarity, certain definitions of the terms used in the rest of the description are set forth. Thus, “guide” or “mean of guiding” means, any means of rail type for example, suited to limit the displacement of a moving element according to a given trajectory.
“Means of following” means any means of roller, bearing, cam or pad type for example, working together with a guide, suited to enable the following of a given trajectory prescribed by said guide.
A “storage compartment” is a drawer, shelf, locker, box, cell, rack, that is a means of support suited to contain, support or suspend objects.
“Furniture” or “furniture support” should be understood to designate a support used to support one or several storage compartments.
Thus, a “furniture support” can be a bracket and a “storage compartment” can be a shelf, carried by said bracket.
A furniture support has an interior volume corresponding to a volume defined by its structure, and inside of which is/are found the storage compartment(s) in returned position. Furthermore, the furniture support and the storage compartment have a front and a back, access to the storage compartment being made from the front.
In its most common implementation, the system according to the invention is thus suited to a storage compartment, of suspended top drawer type, integrated in a furniture support of box type. The furniture support thus has one back face—or bottom, closed or not, one front face, and vertical side walls, orthogonal to the front and back faces. Similarly, the storage compartment of the system according to the invention has one front face, one back face and side walls linking the front face to the back face. In returned position of the storage compartment, the back face of the storage compartment is located close to the back of the furniture support and the front face of the storage compartment is located close to the front of the furniture support.
With reference to
From a structural point of view, with reference to the diagrams 2A, 2B, 2C, the system for removing and making accessible the contents of a storage compartment of furniture, according to the invention, comprises the first fixed means of guiding 1—or guides, comprising two sections 1A, 1B, and the second means of guiding 2.
The first section—main section 1A—of the first means of guiding 1 is essentially horizontal, to enable the horizontal translation of a storage compartment, in order to allow the storage compartment to come out relation to the interior volume of the furniture support.
According to one embodiment, the main section 1A has a slope descending from the front to the back, to enable an autonomous return of the drawer into the furniture, under the effect of gravity. Similarly, one part of the means of following 3 can have a slope configured such that said mean of following 3 and the main section 1A of the first means of guiding remain parallel, also enabling the storage compartment to return and remain essentially horizontal.
The second section 1B—curved or inclined—section of the first means of guiding 1 preferably describes a transition curve between the main section 1A of the first means of guiding and the second means of guiding 2.
The second means of guiding 2 is essentially vertical and positioned at the front of the furniture support, to enable essentially vertical translation, at the front of the furniture support, of the storage compartment, and hence in particular its descent, to make the contents of the drawer accessible.
Preferably, the first and second means of guiding 1, 2 have a continuity of tangency in the line of the track that they delimit, for example by means of slides, to prevent the means of following, for example rollers, from not being precisely guided to the place where said means of guiding forms an angle, in particular in order to ensure the fluidity of the displacement of the storage compartment.
Furthermore, still with reference to the diagrams of
According to one embodiment, the first means of guiding also comprises fixed support rollers 5, attached to the furniture support, suited for example to work together with the slides 3 of the first means of following of the storage compartment.
As shown in
Operation of the System According to the Invention:
With reference to the embodiment shown in
It should be noted that, according to this embodiment, the relative position of the top roller 4A and the support roller 5 is such that the position of the top roller 4A of the drawer when it travels the track delimited by the fixed horizontal rail 1 is similar to that of the support roller 5 in relation to the slide 3 rigidly connected to the drawer. Thus, during its removal from the furniture support 10, the inclination of the drawer 20, in particular of the horizontal bottom of the drawer, remains constant.
It should be noted that the curved or inclined section 1B has an angle in relation to the horizontal which gradually approaches the vertical along with the displacement of the storage compartment 20 in view of its removal.
In these conditions, the forces exerted by the top rollers 4A and the support rollers 5 on the guides 1A, 1B and slides 3—in particular due to the moment created by the weight of the drawer—remain substantially perpendicular to the track they follow.
This has the advantage of limiting the mechanical play and the intensity of the forces of interaction between the means of guiding and the means of following, and consequently reduces the risk of unwanted tipping of the storage compartment.
As
During the vertical translation of the storage compartment, the latter is at least guided by the top and bottom rollers 4A, 4B of the drawer 20, suited to follow the vertical rail 2.
Many embodiments and variants of the system described above are planned.
In particular, according to one embodiment, the means of guiding comprises a plurality of rails. Thus, different fixed and/or moving guides are added in the same planes or in the planes parallel to those comprising the rails of the first and second means of guiding.
Thus, in particular, the second means of guiding can consist in a plurality of moving rail sections which the corresponding second means of following work together with.
Similarly, the first means of guiding can consist in a plurality of fixed rail sections which the corresponding first means of following work together with. The first means of guiding can also comprise one or several moving rail sections.
In particular, according to one embodiment, the function of horizontal guiding and/or the function of vertical guiding is ensured by a combination of fixed and moving rails, such moving rails consisting in the rails 2A capable of being deployed, during the removal of a storage compartment, to adopt a horizontal or vertical position in which they ensure a function of horizontal or vertical guiding, as shown in
According to one embodiment, the system further comprises means to accompany and fluidise the transition between horizontal and vertical translation, by means of rods or other similar means (not shown), enabling for example a circle or an ellipse to be described.
According to a first planned application, the system of making accessible storage compartments, according to the invention, is in particular suited to top suspended storage compartments.
In this simple configuration, a drawer equipped with the system according to the invention is for example suited to standard kitchen furniture.
According to one embodiment, moreover, the back face of the storage compartment, at the end of the course of its horizontal translation and in view of its vertical translation, can be offset, beyond the front of the furniture support, and the second means of guiding can also be offset, enabling said storage compartment to descend lower than the lowest part of the furniture support, in order to increase the accessibility to its contents.
According to a second planned application, the system of making accessible storage compartments, according to the invention, is in particular suited to storage compartments located above an occupied unit but having to remain fully available. Thus, the system according to the invention then enables the making accessible, for example, of a space above an oven placed at the level of the worktop.
In this case, so that the vertical translation of the drawer can be obtained, above a space the access of which must be completely free once the drawer is returned to its original location, in returned position, the rails ensuring the function of second mean of guiding, enabling the vertical translation of the storage compartment, must be retractable.
In this context, according to a first embodiment, the second means of guiding consists in a single retractable rail.
One of the ends of the retractable rail is then driven by the drawer during its essentially horizontal translation, while it is supported on the first fixed means of guiding. Preferably, when the retractable rail is found in the extension of the fixed rail, it is locked to the furniture in this position, thanks to suitable means.
During its return into the furniture support, the drawer drives the retractable rail in the other direction and retracts it.
According to one variant of embodiment, the second means of guiding consists in a retractable rail with hanging extension.
This variant is similar to the embodiment described just above, with the exception of the fact that, according to this variant, said second means of guiding also comprises an extension linked in rotation to the retractable rail. This extension extends the retractable rail in its vertical position. In this way, the option of a lower descent of the storage compartment is obtained, especially lower than the lowest point of the furniture support.
According to one variant of embodiment, part of the first means of guiding associated with the second means of guiding consists in a retractable rail with pivoting clearance.
In this case, the pivoting retractable rail is driven by a roller which is rigidly connected, said roller being held in a rigidly connected vertical rail of the drawer during its horizontal displacements.
Thus, the coming out of the drawer positions the pivoting rail in the continuity of the trajectory of the top roller 4A and the return of the drawer retracts said pivoting rail.
For the convenience of manufacturing, the guiding action of one fixed slide in the main section 1A can be ensured by an offset slide, for example working together with the bottom roller 4B of the means of following or another rigidly connected roller of the storage compartment 3.
According to one variant of embodiment, the second means of guiding consists in a retractable rail with pivoting and hanging clearance, consisting in a combination of the two embodiments described above.
Preferably, retraction of the retractable rail is carried out above the fixed rail, making the extension, and thus the descent downwards of the storage compartment, potentially longer.
According to a third planned application, the system of making storage compartments accessible, according to the invention, is especially suited to form a module 100 that can be stack with other similar modules, operating in compliance with the system according to the invention already described, as shown in
In this case, the superimposed moving modules 100 ensure both the function of the first means of guiding in horizontal translation and of the support roller. Such modules 100 also comprise means to enable the transition from horizontal translation to vertical translation of the associated storage compartment, through a switching function.
Thus, the returned position of a module 100 makes the end of its shared vertical rail coincide with the top end of the shared vertical rail of the other adjacent returned modules.
According to one embodiment, each module 100 consequently has a storage compartment equipped with a “moving” structure comprising:
According to one advanced embodiment, the system according to the invention also comprises specific means of switching. Indeed, the top roller and the rigidly connected bottom roller of the drawer are generally found in the same plane and, especially when there is only one vertical rail track, the top roller has to be prevented from taking the entry of the second means of guiding, taken by the bottom roller, to then come out of said second means of guiding.
To this end, several solutions are planned.
According to a first preferred embodiment of the means of switching, a bearing plane (not shown) is planned parallel to the second means of guiding 2, attached to the storage compartment 20, supported on the support roller 5 at the moment when the top roller 4A passes in front of the planned entry so that the bottom roller 4B enters into the second means of guiding 2.
According to another embodiment relating to the means of switching, the second means of guiding, in vertical translation, can consist in a device of vertical rails each having two separate tracks, as shown in
Furthermore, in this case where two separate vertical tracks are planned, the top 4A and bottom 4B rollers can have different diameters.
According to another embodiment relating to the means of switching, shown in
According to another embodiment (not shown), an additional roller is planned, located on the storage compartment, vertical to the top roller 4A, as well as clearance intended for it; arranged in the vertical rail 2, said additional roller, forming a switching roller, ensuring the guiding of the storage compartment in the vertical rail, in particular when the top roller is located by the entry arranged in the vertical rail 2 in order to allow the passage of the bottom roller 4B.
According to another embodiment (not shown), the system according to the invention further comprises a tipping end means, consisting for example in a rod having as its axis of rotation the top roller (its being close enough) and fitted with a roller at its free end, said rod being restricted in rotation so as to prevent the top roller from passing by the clearance of the bottom roller.
Other variants, not shown, are still planned. In particular, the main section of the first means of guiding, if it can be rectilinear, can also be curved and/or comprise discontinuities in order to mark the set positions of the modules or the storage compartments, under the effect of gravity or another force that would be applied to them.
It should also be noted that the operation of the system according to the invention can be adapted to “reverse” operation, that is in which vertical displacement of the storage compartment is produced upwards and not downwards when it is a matter of making its contents easier to access.
This type of use is in particular planned for the case where it would be desirable to make accessible, at the level of a worktop, the contents of a bottom drawer.
It should also be noted that several configurations of rail/roller pairs are planned.
The profile of the rails used, as required, to ensure horizontal guiding (first means of guiding) or vertical guiding (second means of guiding) can also be chosen freely. Thus planned is the use of rail types of U-shaped slides, of C-shape slides, of U-and C-shape combined slides, of strip slides or again slides with grooved rollers
In summary, the present invention relates to a system for removing and making accessible the contents of a storage compartment, for which different embodiments have been described above.
Nevertheless it is stated, moreover, that the present invention is not limited to the examples described above and is capable of many variants accessible to those skilled in the art.
In particular, according to the advanced embodiments, it is planned that the system according to the invention further comprises means of braking suited to stop the descent of the storage compartment along the second means of guiding, or again means of compensation of the weight of the storage compartment or means of motorisation.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1650740 | Jan 2016 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2017/051745 | 1/27/2017 | WO | 00 |