AU2011231750B2

AU2011231750B2 - Self-retracting device and drawer slide

Info

Publication number: AU2011231750B2
Application number: AU2011231750A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Guido Babucke-Runte; Roman Herzog; Andreas Kaethler; Guido Limberg; Bernd Meyer; Helmut Meyer; Dennis Michelswirth; Lars Schrubke; Andreas Stuffel
Original assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2010-03-25
Filing date: 2011-03-21
Publication date: 2015-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-21
Also published as: WO2011117174A1; AU2011231750A1; DE102010016133A1; RU2012144787A; EP2549904B1; CN102781278A; JP5747288B2; JP2013524042A; ES2462146T3; KR20130040192A; CN102781278B; EP2549904A1; RU2527183C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a self-retracting device (5) of a displaceable furniture part, comprising a housing (7, 8), at least one energy store (10) disposed on the housing and that can be tensioned when the displaceable furniture part is opened, a tensioning mechanism operationally connected to the at least one energy store (10) for pretensioning the at least one energy store against a driver (6) displaceably disposed on the housing, wherein the at least one energy store (10) is divided into at least two segments (11, 12, 13), wherein the functional length of the energy store (10) is adjustable by at least one fixing element (20, 21) releasably lockable to the housing (7, 8) and engaging between two segments (11, 12, 13) of the energy store (10). The invention further relates to a drawer slide.

Description

1 Self-retraction device and pullout guide The present invention relates to a self-retraction device of a movable furniture part according to the preamble of Claim 1, and a pullout guide having a self-retraction device for drawers, sliding 5 doors, furniture pullouts, or the like according to the preamble of Claim 10. Self-retraction devices and pullout guides of the above-mentioned type are known from the prior art in numerous embodiments. The self-retraction device essentially comprises a force accumulator, which is arranged on a housing that is fixed on a guide rail fastened on the body of 0 a piece of furniture, when a drawer, a furniture pullout, or the like is pulled out of a closed position, the force accumulator being tensioned by coupling of the self-retraction device to an activator, the activator being fastened on the slide rail, which is in turn fastened on the drawer, the furniture pullout, or the like and is movable on the guide rail. 5 In the self-retraction devices of the type according to the species, depending on the intended use and equipment of the self-retraction device, a special force accumulator, typically designed as a tension spring, having a specific spring constant must be selected to achieve the desired function of the self-retraction device. Thus, for example, self-retraction devices which are attached to comparatively heavy drawers must be equipped with tension springs having a greater spring .0 constant to be able to retract such a drawer having comparatively greater mass into its closed position. If the self-retraction device is equipped with an additional damping function, a tension spring having correspondingly greater spring constant must also be installed in the self-retraction device in this case, to be able to compensate for the damping force counteracting the self retraction. In self-retraction devices without damping function, a tension spring having a smaller 25 spring constant can accordingly be used. The necessity of such manifold different force accumulators for equipping the self-retraction devices installed for the various intended purposes results in a comparatively high storage costs. In addition, in particular tension springs having large spring constants may only be mounted in 30 the tensioned mechanism of the self-retraction device when the self-retraction device is installed, 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 2 since the housing of the self-retraction device otherwise threatens to take damage because of the high tension force of the tension spring. To solve the above-mentioned problems, equipping a tension spring with an adjustment element 5 on one end is already known from DE 202004000840 Ul, so that depending on the usage, the pre-tension of the tension spring is settable and adaptation to the various usages is possible. In at least one embodiment, the present invention provides a self-retraction device of a movable furniture part and a pullout guide having a self-retraction device, which is suitable with 0 structurally simple outlay for various intended purposes. In a first aspect, the present invention provides a self-retraction device of a movable furniture part, comprising - a housing, - at least one force accumulator, which is arranged on the housing and can be tensioned 5 upon opening of the movable furniture part, - a tensioning mechanism, which is operationally linked to the at least one force accumulator, for pre-tensioning the at least one force accumulator using a driver arranged so the driver is displaceable on the housing, - wherein the at least one force accumulator is divided into at least two segments, the .0 functional length of the force accumulator being adjustable by at least one fixing element, which is removably lockable on the housing and engages between two segments of the force accumulator. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a pullout guide having a self-retraction device 25 for drawers, furniture pullout, or the like, comprising a guide rail fastenable on the body of a piece of furniture, on which the self-retraction device is fastened, and a slide rail fastenable on a drawer, of furniture pullout, or the like, on which an activator is fastened for controlling the self retraction device, wherein the self-retraction device is implemented according to the first aspect. 30 According to the invention, the at least one force accumulator is divided into at least two segments, the functional length of the force accumulator being adjustable by at least one fixing 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 3 element which is removably lockable on a housing. Through the manipulation of the functional length of the force accumulator, the restoring force of the force accumulator is achieved by changing the deflection distance of the force accumulator in a structurally simple manner. This has the advantage that by simply relocating the fixing element, the restoring force of the force 5 accumulator can be adapted in accordance with the usage. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the subclaims. According to an advantageous embodiment variant, the individual segments of the force 0 accumulator are separated from one another by at least one holding section, the fixing element or one of the fixing elements engaging in at least one of the holding sections. The holding sections and the fixing elements are accordingly designed so that simple and secure locking of the force accumulator is possible. 5 According to a further embodiment variant, a further holding section is provided at least on the end of the force accumulator which is remote from the driver. Locking of the force accumulator in a "transport position" is thus made possible in a simple manner, in which the functional length of the force accumulator is maximal and therefore the housing of the self-retraction device is minimally loaded by the pre-tension force of the force accumulator. It is thus additionally made .0 possible that the force accumulator can already be installed in the housing of the self-retraction device upon the installation of the self-retraction device. According to a preferred embodiment variant, the force accumulator is divided into three segments, so that the functional length of the force accumulator can be optimally set firstly for 25 self-retraction with damping, secondly for self-retraction without damping, and thirdly, the force accumulator can be locked so that the entire length of the force accumulator is available as the functional length. According to an embodiment variant of the invention, the fixing element is implemented as a 30 plug-in and/or catch element, whereby particularly easily removable locking of the force accumulator on the housing is made possible. 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 4 In particular, at least one catch recess is provided on the housing for accommodating a catch lug formed onto the fixing element, in order to allow structurally simple and secure fixing of the fixing element on the housing and therefore of the force accumulator. 5 An application of the self-retraction device according to embodiments of the invention for sliding doors is also conceivable. It is also possible to arrange the self-retraction device on a slide rail and the activator on a guide rail. 0 An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in greater detail hereafter on the basis of the appended drawings. In the figures: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment variant of a pullout guide, Figures 2 and 3 show perspective views of an embodiment variant of a self-retraction 5 device according to an embodiment of the invention, Figures 4-6 show various top views of the self-retraction device from Figures 2 and 3 with maximum functional length of the force accumulator, Figures 7 and 8 show perspective views of the self-retraction device from Figures 2 and 3 with reduced functional length of the force accumulator, .0 Figures 9 and 10 show perspective views of the self-retraction device from Figures 2 and 3 with minimal functional length of the force accumulator, Figure 11 shows a detail view of the force accumulator, Figure 12 shows a greatly enlarged view of a detail of the force accumulator from Figure 11, 25 Figures 13 and 14 show various views of a fixing element inserted in the self-retraction device for fixing the force accumulator, Figure 15 shows a graph having characteristic curves of various tension springs. In the following description of the figures, terms such as top, bottom, left, right, front, rear, etc. 30 exclusively relate to the exemplary view and position of the self-retraction device and other parts selected in the respective figures. These terms are not to be understood as restrictive, i.e., these 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 5 references can change through different operating positions or mirror-symmetric design or the like. Figure 1 identifies a pullout guide as a whole with the reference numeral 1. The pullout guide has 5 a guide rail 2 fastenable on a furniture body, and a slide rail 3 movable thereon and optionally a middle rail arranged between guide rail and slide rail. An activator 4 is arranged on the slide rail 3, which engages in a driver 6 of a self-retraction device 5, the self-retraction device 5 being arranged on the guide rail 2. 0 The self-retraction device 5, which is shown in Figures 2 to 10, essentially comprises a preferably two-part housing 7, 8, in which a force accumulator 10 preferably designed as a tension spring is laid. One end of the force accumulator 14 is coupled to a tensioning mechanism for pre-tensioning the force accumulator 10. This tensioning mechanism has a driver 6, arranged so it is displaceable on the housing 8, which is plugged onto a carriage rail of the housing 8 in 5 the installed state and has an operational link to the activator 4 arranged on the slide rail 3. The end of the force accumulator 10 remote from the driver 6, as shown in Figure 3, for example, is fixed on the housing 7 via a fixing element 20 removably locked on the housing 7. .0 The force accumulator 10, as is also shown in Figures 11 and 12, is divided into multiple segments 11, 12, 13, so that by engaging one or more fixing elements 20, 21 between two segments of the force accumulator 10, the functional length of the force accumulator 10 is variable. To make it easier to engage the fixing elements 20, 21 between the segments 11, 12, 13 of the force accumulator 10, holding sections 16, 17 are respectively provided between the 25 individual segments 11, 12, 13, whose width is dimensioned so that a correspondingly formed fixing element 20, 21, shown in detail in Figures 13 and 14, reliably fixes the force accumulator 10 on the housing 7 of the self-retraction device 5 by engaging on the holding sections 16, 17. The fixing elements 20, 21 essentially consist of a main body 22 adapted to the housing 7, on 30 which one end side has a mouth-like opening 23, which encloses a holding section 15, 16, 17, 18 of the force accumulator 10. The mouth-like opening 23 preferably has a semicircular base 26, 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 6 which presses against the preferably cylindrical circumference of the holding section 15, 16, 17, 18. A section 25 having walls extending parallel to one another respectively adjoins the semicircular base 26, and an inclined section 24 respectively adjoins thereon, which leads up to the end side. The insertion of the holding sections 15, 16, 17, 18 is made easier by the inclined 5 sections 24. A catch lug 27 is preferably formed on at least one of the side walls of the fixing element 20, 21, preferably designed as a plug-in and/or catch element, preferably on two opposing lateral surfaces of the fixing element 20, 21, which can latch in a catch recess 9 on the housing 7 after 0 the fixing element 20, 21 is inserted into the housing 7. The recesses 9 on the housing 7 are positioned according to the positioning of the holding sections on the force accumulator 10. According to a preferred embodiment variant, a fixing element 20 is used for fixing the force accumulator 10 on the end of the housing 7 remote from the driver 6. The force accumulator 10 5 is thus fixed on the housing 7 so that the functional length of the force accumulator 10 is maximal and the restoring force of the force accumulator 10 is accordingly minimal. The fixing of the force accumulator 10 in this manner suggests itself in particular during the preinstallation of the self-retraction device 5, during which the housing 7, 8 of the self-retraction device 5 is not yet installed on the guide rail 2 of the pullout guide 1. 0 If the self-retraction device 5 is to be installed without additional damping unit that damps the self-retraction movement, a second fixing element 21 is used on the middle holding section 17, whereby the functional length of the force accumulator 10 is reduced by the length of the segment 13. The maximum achievable restoring force of the force accumulator 10 is thus raised 25 by the placement of the fixing element 21 on the holding section 17. If the self-retraction device 5 is to be equipped with an additional damping device, the fixing element 21 is preferably placed on the holding section 16, whereby the functional length of the force accumulator 10 is minimized. 30 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 7 With reference to Figure 15, the solid line shows the curve of the restoring force of a tension spring as a function of the deflection of the spring that may be used in embodiments of the present invention. The line of the diagram interrupted with a short stroke shows the influence of the restoring force by changing the pre-tension F1 of the tension spring. The spring constant 5 remains equal in relation to the solid line. The line interrupted with two short strokes shows the influence of the restoring force of a tension spring which is caused by segmenting of the tension spring. The initial pre-tension force is maintained as in a typical spring, however, the achievable restoring force is increased by shortening the functional length of the tension spring with uniform deflection, so that thus in a simple manner a self-retraction device 5 having a segmented force 0 accumulator 10 is usable for various purposes by adapting the functional length of the force accumulator 10. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word 5 "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does .0 not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country. 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 8 List of reference numerals 1 pullout guide 2 guide rail 5 3 slide rail 4 activator 5 self-retraction device 6 driver 7 housing 0 8 housing 9 catch recess 10 force accumulator 11 segment 12 segment 5 13 segment 14 end of the force accumulator 15 holding section 16 holding section 17 holding section .0 18 holding section 19 end of the force accumulator 20 fixing element 21 fixing element 22 main body 25 23 opening 24 inclined section 25 section 26 semicircular base 27 catch lug 30 F1 pre-tension force F2 restoring force 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS

Claims

1. A self-retraction device of a movable furniture part, comprising - a housing, 5 - at least one force accumulator, which is arranged on the housing and can be tensioned upon opening of the movable furniture part, - a tensioning mechanism, which is operationally linked to the at least one force accumulator, for pre-tensioning the at least one force accumulator using a driver arranged so the driver is displaceable on the housing, 0 - wherein the at least one force accumulator is divided into at least two segments, the functional length of the force accumulator being adjustable by at least one fixing element, which is removably lockable on the housing and engages between two segments of the force accumulator. 5

2. The self-retraction device according to Claim 1, wherein the force accumulator is designed as a tension spring.

3. The self-retraction device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the individual segments of the force accumulator are separated from one another by at least one holding section, the .0 fixing element or one of the fixing elements engaging in at least one of the holding sections.

4. The self-retraction device according to Claim 3, wherein a further holding section is provided at least on the end of the force accumulator remote from the driver. 25

5. The self-retraction device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the force accumulator is divided into three segments.

6. The self-retraction device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the 30 fixing element is designed as a plug-in and/or catch element. 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS 10

7. The self-retraction device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one catch recess is provided on the housing to receive a catch lug formed on the fixing element. 5

8. The self-retraction device according to Claim 6, wherein at least one pair of catch recesses located opposite to one another are provided on the housing to receive catch lugs formed onto the fixing element on opposing lateral surfaces.

9. The self-retraction device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the force 0 accumulator is fixed on the housing using a first fixing element on an end of the force accumulator remote from the driver and/or the functional length of the force accumulator is shortened to increase the achievable restoring force using a second fixing element engaging in one of the further holding sections. 5

10. The self-retraction device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. A pullout guide having a self-retraction device for drawers, furniture pullout, or the like, comprising a guide rail fastenable on the body of a piece of furniture, on which the self .0 retraction device is fastened, and a slide rail fastenable on a drawer, of furniture pullout, or the like, on which an activator is fastened for controlling the self-retraction device, wherein the self-retraction device is implemented according to one of the preceding claims. 25

12. A pullout guide substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 6766363 1 (GHMatters) P90879.AU WENDYS