Self-retracting and damping device for a drawer element, and piece of furniture or domestic appliance having at least one drawer element
10758043 ยท 2020-09-01
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A self-retracting and damping device for a drawer element, having a first driver, which has a first driver fork for the engagement of an external activator and is guided in a displaceable manner in a first guide curve, and having a second driver, which is guided in a displaceable manner in a second guide curve. One of the drivers is coupled to a damping element and the other driver is coupled to an energy store. The two drivers are coupled to one another in part. The first driver is coupled to the energy store and the second driver is coupled to the damping element. In a first part of a retracting movement, the energy store and the damping element act on the external activator and, in a second part of the retracting movement, only the energy store acts on the external activator.
Claims
1. A self-retracting and damping device for a drawer element, wherein the self-retracting and damping device is configured to engage with an external activator, and wherein the self-retracting and damping device comprises: a first driver having a first driver fork configured for engagement of the external activator and which is displaceably guided in a first guide curve; and a second driver, which is displaceably guided in a second guide curve, wherein one of the drivers is coupled to a damping element and the other of the drivers is coupled to an energy storage unit, wherein the two drivers are coupled together in part, the first driver is coupled to the energy storage unit and the second driver is coupled to the damping element, the self-retracting and damping device is configured to have a retracting movement between an extended position of the self-retracting and damping device and a retracted position of the self-retracting and damping device, the retracting movement of the self-retracting and damping device comprises first and second sections of the retracting movement from the extended position to the retracted position of the self-retracting and damping device, the second section of the retracting movement following the first section of the retracting movement, in the first section of the retracting movement the energy storage unit and the damping element are configured to act on the external activator and in the second section of the retracting movement only the energy storage unit is configured to act on the external activator, wherein a completely retracted position of the first driver and thus of the external activator lies within the second section.
2. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein the first driver includes an internal activator, the second driver has a second driver fork for cooperating with the internal activator in order to couple the first and second drivers to one another.
3. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 2, wherein in the first section the first driver engages with its internal activator in the second driver fork of the second driver in order to couple the two drivers, and at an end of the first section the second driver is guided through the second guide curve in such a way that the first and second drivers are uncoupled.
4. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 3, wherein the second guide curve has an angled end section in a transition region between the first and second section, wherein the angled end section faces away from the first guide curve.
5. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 4, wherein a detent means is arranged in the region of the angled end section, which detent means fixes the second driver in the end section.
6. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein the energy storage unit has at least one tension spring and/or at least one compression spring.
7. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 6, wherein the energy storage unit has a tension spring and a compression spring connected to one another via a coupling carriage which is guided displaceably on a housing of the self-retracting and damping device.
8. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein a length of the second section is between 30% and 35% of a total displacement path of the first driver.
9. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein the damping element is a linear damper.
10. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein the second guide curve has at least one evasion section extending obliquely with respect to a main guide direction to enable an evasive movement of the second driver in a direction transverse to the main guide direction.
11. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 10, wherein the second driver has a spring lance projecting into its travel path and exerts a restoring force on the second driver during the evasive movement.
12. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 1, wherein at least one edge of the second guide curve is flexible in sections in order to enable an evasive movement of the second driver in a direction transverse to a main guide direction.
13. The self-retracting and damping device of claim 12, wherein the second guide curve is formed in a wall of a housing of the self-retracting and damping device, wherein an incision is present in sections in the wall adjacent to the second guide curve.
14. A piece of furniture or a domestic appliance, comprising: at least one drawer element; an external activator; and a self-retracting and damping device coupled to the at least one drawer element, wherein the self-retracting and damping device comprises a first driver having a first driver fork configured for engagement of the external activator and which is displaceably guided in a first guide curve; and a second driver, which is displaceably guided in a second guide curve, wherein one of the drivers is coupled to a damping element and the other of the drivers is coupled to an energy storage unit, wherein the two drivers are coupled together in part, the first driver is coupled to the energy storage unit and the second driver is coupled to the damping element, the self-retracting and damping device is configured to have a retracting movement between an extended position of the self-retracting and damping device and a retracted position of the self-retracting and damping device, the retracting movement of the self-retracting and damping device comprises first and second sections of the retracting movement from the extended position to the retracted position of the self-retracting and damping device, the second section of the retracting movement following the first section of the retracting movement, in the first section of the retracting movement the energy storage unit and the damping element are configured to act on the external activator and in a second section of the retracting movement only the energy storage unit is configured to act on the external activator, wherein a completely retracted position of the first driver and thus of the external activator lies within the second section.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
(1) The invention will be explained in more detail below by reference to embodiment examples shown in the drawings, wherein:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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(18) As
(19) In this embodiment example, the first guide curve 112 is formed in the upper part of the housing 11. A first driver 12 is guided in it. This first driver 12 is coupled to an energy storage unit 13. The second guide curve 113 is formed in the lower part of the housing 11. In this second guide curve 113, a second driver 17 is guided. This is connected to a damping element 18. Both guide curves 112 and 113 run parallel to each other with regard to their main direction of guidance.
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(21) The first driver 12 has guide pins 120 protruding laterally, as well as a driver fork 121 open at the bottom. The external activator 3 engages in this. With the guide pins 120, the first driver 12 is guided in the first guide curves 112, which are formed opposite each other in each wall of the housing 11. The guide curve 112 is formed as a crutch curve, which has an upwardly facing bent end section 112a in its front area.
(22) The front and rear designations refer to the direction of movement of the drawer element within the scope of the application. When closing the drawer element, the external activator 3 moves towards the front area of the self-retracting and damping device 10. Due to the upwardly facing angled end section 112a, the front area of the driver 120 lifts up in the maximum extended position, whereby the external activator 3 can be picked up when driving into the driver fork 121 or is released when driving out of it.
(23) A fork 122 is arranged on the upper side of the driver 12, via which a connection to the energy storage unit 13 is made. In the present case, the energy storage unit 13 is realized by a combination of a tension spring 14 and a compression spring 15. For drawing reasons, the tension spring 14 is not reproduced over its entire length. It should be noted that, alternatively, the energy storage unit 13 can be composed of only one tension spring, only one compression spring and/or other combinations of one or more different springs. In the present combination of tension spring 14 and compression spring 15, the tension spring 14 with spring heads 140 is engaged for hooking into the fork 122 of the first driver 120 and on the other hand into a comparable fork 161 of a coupling carriage 16.
(24) The coupling carriage 16 is essentially made up of two parallel tube sections arranged one above the other, the upper of which represents a tension spring guide 160, through which the tension spring 14 is guided. The lower tube section, closed at the rear, forms a compression spring receptacle 162 for the compression spring 15. The coupling carriage 16 is guided with its tension spring guide 160 in a downwardly open sleeve 115, which is formed in the rear area of the housing 11. The sleeve 115, which is open at the bottom, has webs at its opening which engage in the waist between the tension spring guide 160 and the compression spring receptacle 162. The combination of tension spring 14 and compression spring 15 leads to an advantageous linear spring behavior of the energy storage unit 13, even over a long guide travel of the first driver 120 with a relatively short installation length of the self-retracting and damping device 10.
(25) The second driver 17 also has guide pins 170, with which it is guided in the second guide curve 113. This guide curve 113 is formed essentially parallel to the first guide curve 112. It is also a crutch curve with an angled end section 113a. In the middle area of the guide curve 113 there is a parking section 113b running diagonally upwards and an evasion section 113c running diagonally downwards, the function of which will be explained later.
(26) At its front end, a spring lance 173 protruding in the direction of movement is arranged on the second driver 17, which also has protruding guide pins on its sides. The function of this spring lance 173 is also explained in more detail below. In the front area, the guide curve 113 leads into a pocket-shaped channel 114 into which the spring lance 173 can retract.
(27) The two guide curves 112, 113 have different lengths, which lead to different travel paths of the two drivers 12, 17. In this case, the travel path of the first driver 12 is longer and represents the entire travel path of the retraction movement that the external activator 3 can perform within the self-retracting and damping device 10. In a first section A of the retracting movement, the second driver 17 moves together with the first driver 12. A second section B of the retracting movement is then only performed by the first driver 12. The length of the second section B in this example is about 33% of the total displacement path of the first driver 12. The total displacement path of the first driver 12 corresponds to the sum of the lengths of the first and second sections A, B.
(28) The second driver 17 has a fork 171 open at the top, into which the internal activator 123 engages in order to couple both drivers 12, 17 to each other. In the rear area, a receptacle 172 is formed on the second driver 17 to couple this second driver 17 with the damping element 18. This is designed as a linearly operating cylinder damper (also called linear damper) with a piston rod 180, which at its end carries a ball head 181, which engages in the receptacle 172. The damping element 18 has unspecified fastening means with which it is preferably latched to the housing 11.
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(31) After the external activator 3 has been inserted into the driver fork 121, the first driver 12 is tilted from its rest position and moves under the force action of the energy storage unit 13 in the direction of the retracted position. An intermediate position of this movement is shown in
(32) In the continued retraction movement shown in
(33) In the second section B, which now follows, the first driver 12 moves undamped under the action of the force of the energy storage unit 13 until the end of the first guideway 112 is reached. This condition is shown in
(34) When the drawer element is extended again from the closed state according to
(35) Then both drivers 12, 17 move together in the first section A (see
(36) For transport or installation reasons, it is possible with the self-retracting and damping device 10 shown that the two drivers 12, 17 are not coupled even in the area of the first section A, but that the internal activator 123 is positioned outside the second driver fork 171.
(37) Such a situation is depicted in
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(41) With regard to its basic design, the self-retracting and damping device 10 of the second embodiment example is comparable to that of the first embodiment example. In the following, the differences between the two embodiments will be discussed in particular.
(42) In the second embodiment example, the first driver 12, which receives the external activator 3 with its driver fork 121, is arranged in a lower region of the housing 11, and the second driver 17, which is coupled to the damping element 18, is arranged in an upper section of the housing 11. First and second guideways 112, 113, respectively, are again provided, which guide the first and second drivers 12, 17, respectively, on a crutch curve. Again, the first guide curve 112 has an angled end section 112a at the front and the second guide curve 113 has an angled end section 113a at the rear.
(43) As in the first embodiment example, the two drivers 12, 17 couple in a first section A of the movement so that a damped self-retracting movement occurs. In a second section B, the second driver 17 releases the internal activator 123 from its driver fork 171, so that in the second section B there is an undamped self-retracting movement.
(44) The coupling of the two drivers 12, 17 in the first movement section is shown in
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(46) Due to the reversed arrangement of the guideways 112, 113 compared to the first embodiment example, the second guideway 113 in the angled end section 113a runs upwards. Since the spring force is not applied, the second driver 17 could slip out of the end position shown in
(47) To prevent this, a detent means 116 in the form of a resilient projection is arranged in the angled end section 113a, as shown in
(48) As can be seen especially in
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(50) There is a further difference between the two embodiment examples with regard to an operating state in which the internal activator 123 is not positioned in the driving fork 171 even in the first movement section (see
(51) In connection with
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(53) A self-retracting and damping device 10 is also attached to the side wall 5 between the mounting brackets. The self-retracting and damping device 10 essentially corresponds to the self-retracting and damping device 10 of the first embodiment example shown in
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(55) The pull-out guide shown corresponds in turn to that shown in
(56) The self-retracting and damping device 10 corresponds to that of the first embodiment example and, as shown in connection with
(57) It interacts with an external activator which is not visible here and which is arranged on one of the other rails 8, preferably the running rail. Alternatively, as with the furniture shown in
(58) The advantage of the self-retracting and damping device 10 when used in a refrigerating unit is that it ensures that the drawer element guided by the pull-out guide can be retracted safely. In this way, it is reliably prevented that a door of the refrigeration unit not shown here is in contact with a drawer element that may not be fully retracted and does not close properly.
(59) 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.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
(60) 1 Body rail 2 Mounting bracket 3 External activator 4 Body 5 Side wall 6 Interior space 7 Door seal 8 Additional rail 9 Synchronization unit 10 Self-retracting and damping device 11 Housing 110 Fastening means 111 Incision 112 First guide curve 112a Angled end section 113 Second guide curve 113a Angled end section 113b Parking section 113c Evasion section 114 Channel 115 Sleeve 116 Detent means 117 Incision 118 Incision 119 Incision 12 First driver 120 Guide pin 121 Driver fork 122 Fork for spring 123 Internal activator 13 Energy storage unit 14 Tension spring 140 Spring head 15 Compression spring 16 Coupling carriage 160 Tension spring guide 161 Fork for spring 162 Compression spring receptacle 163 Pin 17 Second driver 170 Guide pin 171 Driver fork 172 Receptacle for ball head 173 Spring lance 18 Damping element 180 Piston rod 181 Ball head A First section B Second section