CN212003835U - Connection system for furniture parts - Google Patents

Abstract

A connection system for furniture components is disclosed, the connection system comprising: a female coupling recess formed in the first furniture component; a male coupling tongue protruding from an adjoining second furniture part, the female coupling recess being adapted to receive the male coupling tongue; an upper guide surface arranged on a first side of the female coupling recess on the first furniture part; a lower guide surface arranged on a second side of the female coupling recess on the first furniture part opposite to said first side thereof, said lower guide surface being configured to force the male coupling tongue to elastically deflect upon further insertion thereof while engaging with said upper guide surface in a deflecting movement towards said first side of the female coupling recess until the first locking element of the male coupling tongue snaps together with the mating second locking element of the female coupling recess.

Description

Connection system for furniture parts

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a connection system for furniture parts, comprising a female coupling recess formed in a first furniture part. The female coupling recess is adapted to receive a male coupling tongue protruding from an adjoining second furniture part.

Background

In recent years, the furniture industry is utilizing various snap lock connection systems to gradually replace the traditional fastening connection methods using nails and screw and nut connection elements. This trend has greatly facilitated the installation of furniture such as bookshelves, wardrobes and cabinets.

An example of such a connection system is described in US 9714672 (B2), where a set of panels comprises a first panel having a first main plane and a second panel having a second main plane. The panels are provided with mechanical locking means for locking a first edge of a first panel to a second edge of a second panel. The mechanical locking means comprises an edge section groove at the first edge, wherein the edge section of the second edge is insertable into the edge section groove. The flexible tongue is pre-fitted in an insertion groove provided in the edge section groove and cooperates with a tongue groove provided at the edge section of the second panel. The problem with the complexity of the prior art connection system is that it introduces a complex and expensive manufacturing process. Another problem with prior art systems is the lack of stability in certain load directions. In some cases, the lack of structural symmetry results in insufficient side stability or resistance to bending. Stability may be sufficient when a force is applied in one direction. If a force is applied in another direction (usually the opposite direction), prior art connection systems may be weak and eventually flex, deflect or bend in an undesirable manner. These uneven stabilities of the joints must be taken into account when designing a piece of furniture, which may limit the design options available in the design process.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present invention to at least partially overcome one or more limitations of the prior art. In particular, it is an object to provide an improved connection system for furniture parts which is simpler to manufacture and more robust with increased multidirectional side stability compared to existing connection systems.

In a first aspect of the invention, the above object is achieved by a connection system for furniture parts, comprising: a female coupling recess formed in the first furniture component; a male coupling tongue protruding from an adjoining second furniture part, the female coupling recess being adapted to receive the male coupling tongue, the male coupling tongue comprising a first locking element configured for snap-connection interlocking engagement with a matching second locking element in the female coupling recess, the male coupling tongue being configured to be more flexible than the female coupling recess. The connecting system comprises an upper guiding surface arranged at a first side of a female coupling recess on the first furniture part, forming a substantially non-resilient guide for the male coupling tongue when the male coupling tongue is inserted, thereby limiting the movement of said male coupling tongue in a direction towards said first side of the female coupling recess. The connecting system comprises a lower guide surface arranged on a second side of the female coupling recess on the first furniture part opposite to said first side thereof, said lower guide surface being configured to force the male coupling tongue to elastically deflect upon further insertion thereof while engaging with said upper guide surface in a deflecting movement towards said first side of the female coupling recess until the first locking element of the male coupling tongue snaps together with the mating second locking element of the female coupling recess. The lower guide surface transitions at its lowermost end to a transverse locking surface extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess, said transverse locking surface being configured to exert a horizontal pressure on the male coupling tongue towards said first side of the female coupling recess, thereby keeping the first and second locking elements of the male coupling tongue and the female coupling recess in engagement with each other in the connected state between the first and second furniture parts.

Configuring the lower guiding surface to force the male coupling tongue to elastically deflect upon further insertion of the male coupling tongue while engaging with said upper guiding surface in a deflecting movement towards said first side of the female coupling recess until the first locking element of the male coupling tongue snaps together with the matching second locking element of the female coupling recess provides an increased multi-directional side stability for a robust connection system while being simpler to manufacture.

Still other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description and from the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a side view of a connection system according to an example of the present disclosure applied at an exemplary basic furniture 90 degree corner joint between two furniture components. This figure shows the connecting system in a fully connected and locked position, wherein a male coupling tongue extending from one furniture part engages with a female coupling recess formed on another furniture part.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of a connecting system similar to fig. 1, only here in a position before the male coupling tongue of the second furniture part engages the female coupling recess of the first furniture part.

Fig. 3 shows a further side view of the connecting system in an intermediate insertion position, wherein the male coupling tongue is resiliently deflected to the left in the figure, just before it will finally snap into the final locking position as shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a side view similar to fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows another side view of the connecting system in an intermediate insertion position, where the male coupling tongue rests against an edge in the female coupling recess before further insertion.

Figure 6 shows a side view of a corner joint of the connection system.

Fig. 7a shows a side view similar to fig. 2, although in an example where the detachable locking element is arranged on the core of the male coupling tongue.

Fig. 7b shows another side view, wherein the male coupling tongue with the detachable locking element is arranged in an interlocking condition with the female coupling recess.

Figure 7c shows a side view similar to figure 7a but with the detachable locking element removed from the male coupling tongue.

Fig. 8a shows an example similar to fig. 7a but in a perspective view.

Fig. 8b shows a side view similar to fig. 7b, but with a groove at the bottom of the female coupling recess.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the first and second furniture parts, wherein the detachment is effected by a lateral relative movement thereof.

Detailed description of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a connection system 1 for furniture components 10, 20. The connecting system 1 comprises a female coupling recess 30 formed in a first furniture part 10, and a male coupling tongue 40 protruding from an adjoining second furniture part 20. The female coupling recess 30 is adapted to receive the male coupling tongue 40, and the male coupling tongue 40 comprises a first locking element 50 configured for snap-connection interlocking engagement with a matching second locking element 60 in the female coupling recess 30. The male coupling tongue 40 is configured to be more flexible than the female coupling recess 30. Thus, the material surrounding the female coupling recess 30 is more rigid than the material surrounding the male coupling tongue 40. The male coupling tongue 40 may be configured to be substantially resilient, while the female coupling recess 30 is configured to be substantially rigid and non-resilient. The upper guide surface 110 is arranged on a first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30 on the first furniture part 10. The upper guide surface 110 forms a substantially rigid or non-resilient guide for the male coupling tongue 40 when inserted, thereby limiting the movement of the male coupling tongue 40 in a direction towards the first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30. The connection system 1 comprises a lower guide surface 130 arranged on a second side 116 of the female coupling recess 30 on the first furniture part 10 opposite to said first side 115 thereof. The lower guide surface 130 is configured to force the male coupling tongue 40 to elastically deflect upon further insertion of the male coupling tongue while engaging the upper guide surface 110 in a deflecting motion, as schematically illustrated in fig. 3. The male coupling tongue 40 is deflected towards the first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30 until the first locking element 50 of the male coupling tongue 40 snaps together with the mating second locking element 60 of the female coupling recess 30, i.e. assumes the connected state shown in fig. 1. The first locking element 60 may comprise an integral protrusion 60 integrally formed in the male coupling tongue 40. The protrusion 60 may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 245, in which the male coupling tongue 40 extends. The second locking element 60 may comprise a recess 60 for receiving the protrusion 60.

The lower guide surface 130 transitions at its lowermost end 160 to a transverse locking surface 170 extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess 30. The lateral locking surface 170 is configured to exert a horizontal pressure (P) on the male coupling tongue 40 towards the first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30, as schematically illustrated in fig. 1. The horizontal pressure (P) keeps the first 50 and second 60 locking elements of the male coupling tongue 40 and the female coupling recess 30 engaged with each other in the connected state between the first 10 and second 20 furniture parts. The first furniture part 10 and the second furniture part 20 can thus be connected at a 90 degree angle, as shown in fig. 1. It should be understood that first furniture member 10 and second furniture member 20 may be joined at different angles (i.e., oblique or acute) than the perpendicular angle as illustrated in the example of fig. 1.

Configuring the lower guiding surface 130 to force the male coupling tongue 40 to elastically deflect upon further insertion of the male coupling tongue 40 while engaging the upper guiding surface 110 in a deflecting motion towards the first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30 until the first locking element 50 snaps together with the mating second locking element 60 provides an increased multi-directional side stability for the robust connection system 1 while being simpler to manufacture. When the first locking element 60 comprises an integral protrusion 60 integrally formed in the male coupling tongue 40, a further increased stability and increased strength is provided in the interlocked state of the first and second furniture parts 10, 20. For example, a disadvantage of prior art connection systems is that interlocking of furniture components often requires a separate flexible polymeric tongue, which must be pre-installed during manufacture. This may increase the complexity of the production line and manufacturing process as well as the connection system and thus become more expensive. The throughput of a production line in mass production may also be more limited. Thus, in addition to providing a more robust and robust connection system 1 capable of absorbing greater force loads in more directions (due to its one-piece, unitary construction), its manufacture is facilitated. The furniture components 10, 20 may correspond to various components of different furniture to be assembled together using the connection system 1, such as drawers, wardrobes, shelves, desks, cabinets, etc.

As shown in fig. 2, the lower guide surface 130 may be arranged at an apex formed at a connecting edge of the lateral locking surface 170 and the inclined surface 48 of the second side 116 of the female coupling recess 30. At least a portion of the aforementioned inclined surface 48 may form the lower guide surface 130. For example, when inserting the male coupling tongue 40 into the female coupling recess 30, the lower part of the male coupling tongue 40 may initially be guided by the inclined surface 48 to the position shown in fig. 5. When a force is exerted on the male coupling tongue 40 to continue inserting the male coupling tongue, the reaction force towards the male coupling tongue 40 deflecting it becomes more concentrated to the apex of the lateral locking surface 170 and the inclined surface 48, i.e. at the location of the guide surface 130 shown in fig. 3.

The lower guiding surface 130 may be configured to force the male coupling tongue 40 to elastically deflect upon further insertion of the male coupling tongue while engaging with said upper guiding surface 110 in a curved J-shaped deflection movement towards said first side 115 of the female coupling recess 30 until the first locking element 50 of the male coupling tongue 40 snaps with the mating second locking element 60 of the female coupling recess 30. This deflection movement is illustrated in the schematic example of fig. 3. Thus, it may be achieved that the male coupling tongue 40 facilitates insertion into the interlocking position, while a robust and stable interlocking state is achieved.

The first locking element 50 may comprise a continuously curved bulb-shaped protrusion 240 extending from the male coupling tongue 40, as shown in fig. 3. This provides improved structural integrity with a reduced risk of unwanted deformation, while facilitating manufacture of the first locking element 50 may be achieved.

The second locking element 60 may include a female locking groove 270 that at least partially conforms to the bulb-shaped protrusion 240 for interlocking engagement therewith, as shown in fig. 1. Accordingly, the bulb-shaped protrusion 240 may smoothly engage with the female locking groove 270 while maximizing a contact area therebetween, thereby allowing a local pressure rise point to be reduced when a load is applied to the first or second furniture member 10, 20.

The upper guide surface 110 may extend substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction 31 of the female coupling recess 30, as schematically illustrated in fig. 2. The upper guide surface 110 may extend directly from the second locking element 60 of the female coupling recess 30 in a direction towards the insertion opening 32 of said female coupling recess 30. This arrangement of the upper guide surface 110 provides an efficient and reliable guiding of the first locking element 50 in the longitudinal direction 31 into the correct interlocking position in the adjacent second locking element 60.

The lower guide surface 130 may be curved. Having a curved guiding surface 130 facilitates guiding the male coupling tongue 40 into the final interlocked state in the female coupling recess 30, since the guiding surface 130 may exert a force against the male coupling tongue in a gradually changing direction to deflect it in the above-described manner when the male coupling tongue 40 is pushed down and advanced to the final position. As set forth above, the lower guide surface 130 may form a portion of the inclined surface 48 and the lateral locking surface 170, effectively combining to form the curved lower guide surface 130. Although the example in fig. 3 shows defined edges at which the reference numerals of the guide surface 130 are shown, it is contemplated that the inclined surface 48 and the lateral locking surface 170 form a smoother transition.

Thus, the lower guide surface 130 may be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction 31 of the female coupling recess 30. That is, the lower guide surface 130 may be effectively defined, at least in part, by the inclined surface 48 at the second side 116 of the female coupling recess 30, as shown in fig. 2.

The male coupling tongue 40 may be integrally formed with the first furniture part 10 and the female coupling recess 30 may be integrally formed with the second furniture part 20. This provides a robust connection system 1 capable of absorbing higher force loads and is easy to manufacture with a reduced number of individual components 1.

The male coupling tongue 40 may comprise a side support surface 181, which may extend perpendicularly from the base 41 of the male coupling tongue 40 on the second furniture part 20, as schematically illustrated in fig. 2. The side support surface 181 is arranged to abut directly against the support surface 171 on the first furniture part 10. This provides symmetrical side stability and bending resistance in the locked connection between the first furniture part 10 and the second furniture part 20.

As shown in fig. 4, the width (a) at the base 41 of the male coupling tongue 40 may be wider than the width (B) of the male coupling tongue 40 at its first locking element 50. Having a wider base 41 provides further increased side stability of the connection system 1. As shown in fig. 4, the width (B) may be wider than the width (G) of the female coupling recess 30 at the upper guide surface 110. This provides an efficient and robust interlock mechanism. The width (H) of the distal-most portion of the male coupling tongue 40 at the transverse locking surface 170 may be less than the widths A, B and G. This provides for an easy deflection of the distal part of the male coupling tongue 40, as shown in fig. 3, while having a robust base 41 and a reliable interlocking mechanism.

Upon insertion of the male coupling tongue 40 (fig. 3), the first locking element 50 may rest against the edge 42 of the upper guide surface 110 before the lower guide surface 130 forces the male coupling tongue 40 to elastically deflect, as shown in fig. 5. Turning again to fig. 5, the male coupling tongue 40 extends from a base surface 43 of the second furniture part 20, wherein the base surface 43 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 245 of the male coupling tongue 40. As shown in fig. 5, the length D extends from the base surface 43 to the aforementioned edge 42. The transverse locking surface 170 is at an angle to the longitudinal direction 31 of the female coupling recess 30 at the upper edge 44. Thus, the upper edge 44 corresponds to an apex or point where the lateral locking surface 170 connects or transitions to the inclined surface 48 of the second side of the female coupling recess 30, as shown in fig. 4. The length C extends from the base surface 43 to said upper edge 44. In one example, length D is less than length C.

In one example, the length C may be less than the length F of the male coupling tongue 40 in its longitudinal direction 245 when the first locking element 50 rests against the edge 42 of the upper guide surface 110, as shown in fig. 5. Thus, when the first locking element 50 rests against the edge 42 of the upper guiding surface 110, a part of the male coupling tongue 40 has been guided into a position abutting against the lateral locking surface 170. This provides improved position control of the male coupling tongue 40 before it is deflected towards the first side 115. This provides a robust interlocking mechanism between the first and second furniture components 10, 20. Having a length V less than the length K also provides such improved position control of the male coupling tongue 40 before it is deflected towards the first side 115, as shown in fig. 5. The length V extends from the base surface 43 of the male coupling tongue 40 to the upper edge of the guide surface S of the female coupling recess. The length K extends from the base surface 43 to the edge 46 of the male coupling tongue 40.

As shown in the example of fig. 4, the length F of the male coupling tongue 40 in its longitudinal direction 245 may be smaller than the depth P of the female coupling recess 30. This provides for avoiding unnecessary tension between the tip portion of the male coupling tongue 40 and the base of the female coupling recess 30 and accommodates variations in manufacturing tolerances.

As mentioned, upon insertion of the male coupling tongue 40, the first locking element 50 may rest at the edge 42 of the upper guide surface 110 before the lower guide surface 130 forces the male coupling tongue 40 to elastically deflect. The female coupling recess 30 may be recessed from the base surface 21 of the first furniture part 10, wherein the base surface 21 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 31 of the female coupling recess 30. As shown in fig. 5, the length E extends from the base surface 21 to the edge 42. The male coupling tongue 40 may comprise a base 41 having a vertical surface 45 facing the second side 116 in the interlocked state. The vertical surface 45 may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction 245 of the male coupling tongue 40. As further shown in fig. 5, the vertical surface 45 may transition to an inclined surface 47 at the edge 46 relative to the longitudinal direction 245. As mentioned, the male coupling tongue 40 may further extend from a base surface 43 of the second furniture part 20, wherein the base surface 43 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 245. The length K extends from the base surface 43 to the edge 46. The length E may be less than the length K.

The male coupling tongue 40 may comprise a base 41 having a vertical surface 45 facing the second side 116 in the interlocked state. The vertical surface 45 may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction 245 of the male coupling tongue 40. As shown in fig. 4, the lateral locking surface 170, the first locking element 50 and the vertical surface 45 may be arranged to lock the male coupling tongue 40 in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 245. As shown in fig. 5, the lateral locking surface 170 faces an opposing second surface 172 of the female coupling recess 30. The male coupling tongue 40 and the second surface 172 may be spaced apart by a distance d 3. This provides accommodation for tolerance variations and prevents unnecessary tension between the male coupling tongue 40 and the female coupling recess 30.

The aforementioned vertical surface 45 of the male coupling tongue 40 may transition to an inclined surface 47 with respect to the longitudinal direction 245. As shown in the example of fig. 4, the inclined surface 47 may face an opposite second inclined surface 48 of the female coupling recess 30 in the connected state. The second sloping surface 48 may transition to a lateral locking surface 170. As further shown in fig. 4, the inclined surface 47 and the second inclined surface 48 may be spaced apart by a distance d1 in the connected state. This provides for avoiding unnecessary tension between the male coupling tongue 40 and the female coupling recess 30 in the connected state when a vertical force is applied. This force can instead be concentrated on the horizontal base surfaces 21, 43 of the first and second furniture parts 10, 20. As shown in the example of fig. 5, the base surfaces 21 on either side of the female coupling recess 30 may be arranged at the same height with respect to the female coupling recess 30. The connection system 1, which symmetry is robust, has an improved load absorption in multiple directions. In the latter example, the corresponding base surfaces 43 on both sides of the male coupling tongue 40 are equally arranged in the same position in the longitudinal direction 245. However, it should be understood that where the second furniture component 20 joins the first furniture component 10 at an angle other than 90 degrees (e.g., 70 degrees, 50 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees, etc.), the base surface 43 may be correspondingly angled to accommodate such an angular configuration.

The upper guide surface 110 may be facing the opposite second surface 49 of the male coupling tongue 40 in the connected state. As shown in fig. 4, the guide surface 110 and the second surface 49 may be spaced apart by a distance d2 in the connected state.

When the male coupling tongue 40 is slid against the upper guide surface 110 until the interlocking engagement is reached, the surface of the second side 116 of the female coupling recess 30, indicated with S in fig. 5, provides a reaction force to the male coupling tongue.

As schematically illustrated in the example of fig. 7a, the male coupling tongue 40 may comprise a removable locking element 240 defining the outer contour of the male coupling tongue 40. As shown in fig. 7b, the locking element 240 is configured to be arranged within the female coupling recess 30. Thus, the removable locking element 240 comprises said first locking element 50, which is configured for a snap-connection interlocking engagement with a matching second locking element 60 in the female coupling recess 30. Since the locking element 240 is removably attached, it allows different mounting options of the first and second furniture parts 10, 20 to be facilitated. For example, the second furniture part 20 in fig. 7c may be installed in two different directions by rotating the removable locking element 240 around the longitudinal direction 245 before it is attached to the male coupling tongue 40. The male coupling tongue 40 with the removable locking element 240 attached thereto may then be connected with the female coupling recess 30. It should be understood that although the female coupling recess 30 in fig. 7a to 7c shows two opposing locking elements 60, 60', the double mounting option as described above is achieved with the female coupling recess 30 having only one locking element 60, since the locking element 240 is removable as described above.

The male coupling tongue 40 may comprise a core 241 which, in the interlocked position of the respective mating surfaces 243, 244, may be positioned inside the cavity 242 of the removable locking element 240 such that the removable locking element 240 defines said outer contour of the male coupling tongue 40. The mating surfaces 243, 244 may be at least partially symmetrically aligned with respect to the longitudinal direction 245 of the male coupling tongue 40, such that the removable locking element 240 may be positioned around the core in a first position, in which the first locking element 50 extends in a first radial direction r1, and in a second direction, in which the first locking element 50 extends in a second radial direction r2 opposite to the first radial direction r1, as shown in fig. 7 c. Similarly, prior to positioning the core 241 inside the cavity 242, the removable locking element 240 may remain in one orientation, e.g., with the first locking element 50 facing the first radial direction r1, when the second furniture component 20 is flipped about the longitudinal axis 245 due to the symmetrically aligned mating surfaces 243, 244.

When in interlocking engagement with the mating second locking element 60 in the female coupling recess 30, the locking element 240 may be arranged to prevent the furniture parts 10, 20 from separating from each other when subjected to a separating force applied between the first furniture part 10 and the second connection part 20. This therefore prevents the male coupling tongue 40 from moving in the longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue 40 relative to the female coupling recess 30 in the locked connection state between the first furniture part 10 and the second furniture part 20.

As shown in the example of fig. 7a to 7c, the locking element 240 may be generally U-shaped. Locking element 240 may comprise a polymeric material.

As shown in the perspective view of fig. 8a, the female coupling recess 30 may extend along the length L of the first furniture component 10. The locking element 240 can slide along the length L with respect to the male coupling tongue 40 so as to be pushed out of the female coupling recess 30 and separated from the first and second furniture parts 10, 20 when in interlocking engagement. This allows intentional separation of the first furniture part 10 and the second furniture part 20 during disassembly. The female coupling recess 30 may comprise a groove 246 at its bottom, which groove provides for facilitating engagement with the locking element 240 with a tool to push the locking element out of the female coupling recess 30.

As shown in the schematic perspective view of fig. 9, the first locking element 50 may extend along the length L 'of the second furniture part 20 along the interrupted length L1' of the male coupling tongue 40. The discontinuity length L1 'may be separated by a male separation section L2'. The second locking element 60 may extend along the length L of the first furniture component 10 along the interrupted length L1 of the female coupling recess 30. The break length L1' may be separated by a female separation section L2. The first and second furniture components 10, 20 can be slid relative to each other in said interlocking engagement along said length L, L 'into a separated state, wherein the male separation section L2' overlaps the second locking element 60 and the female separation section L2 overlaps the first locking element 50 to allow intentional separation of the first and second furniture components 10, 20. Thus, facilitated separation may be provided. Thus, male disengagement section L2' may freely slide over second locking element 60 without engaging the second locking element with a retention force. Likewise, female split section L2 may slide freely over the first locking element without engaging first locking element 50. Male separation section L2' and female separation section L2 may include flat surfaces without, for example, protrusions 240 and grooves 270.

As shown in fig. 6, the first and second furniture components 10, 20 may be joined at their corner joints 300 along angled corner surfaces 301. The corner surface 301 may have a slope of 45 degrees. The first and second furniture components 10, 20 may include interlocking surfaces formed as a recess 304 in the second furniture component and a protrusion 303 in the first furniture component 10. A recess 304 may be arranged between the male coupling tongue 40 and the corner edge 302 of the corner joint 300. Thus, a robust and reliable corner joint 300 may be provided.

The connection system according to the invention is equally applicable to various materials, such as solid wood, laminated wood, different types of fibre board material (e.g. MDF or HDF material), plastic or composite polymer material (e.g. PVC), or other polymer materials and metals (e.g. aluminium). The connection system can also be used for connecting hollow profile beams of plastic, steel or aluminium.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and that a skilled person will realize that many variations and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (24)

1. Connection system (1) for furniture parts, characterized in that it comprises

A female coupling recess (30) formed in a first furniture part (10) comprising a base surface on both sides of the female coupling recess,

a male coupling tongue (40) protruding from a base surface of an adjoining second furniture part (20), wherein the base surface extends on both sides of the male coupling tongue, said female coupling recess (30) is adapted to receive the male coupling tongue (40), said male coupling tongue (40) comprises a first locking element (50) configured for snap-connection interlocking engagement with a matching second locking element (60) in said female coupling recess (30), the male coupling tongue (40) is shaped to be more flexible than the female coupling recess (30) and to deflect in a first direction to create a snap-connection interlocking engagement,

an upper guide surface (110) arranged on a first side (115) of a female coupling recess (30) on the first furniture part (10), forming a guide for the male coupling tongue (40) when inserted, limiting the movement of said male coupling tongue (40) in a direction towards said first side (115) of the female coupling recess (30),

a lower guide surface (130) arranged at a second side (116) of the female coupling recess (30) on the first furniture part (10), said second side being opposite to said first side (115) of the female coupling recess, said lower guide surface (130) being configured to engage the male coupling tongue (40), and the first male coupling tongue (40) being configured to elastically deflect in a single first direction upon further insertion of said male coupling tongue while engaging with said upper guide surface (110) in a deflecting movement towards said first side (115) of the female coupling recess (30) until the first locking element (50) of the male coupling tongue (40) snaps together with the matching second locking element (60) of the female coupling recess (30),

wherein said lower guiding surface (130) transitions at its lowermost end (160) to a lateral locking surface (170) extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess (30), and wherein the base surfaces extending on both sides of the male coupling tongue are configured to rest on the base surfaces on both sides of the female coupling recess when the connection system is in a connected state.

2. The connection system according to claim 1, wherein the lower guiding surface (130) is configured to engage the male coupling tongue (40), and wherein the male coupling tongue (40) is configured to elastically deflect upon further insertion of the male coupling tongue while engaging with the upper guiding surface (110) in a curved J-shaped deflection movement towards the first side (115) of the female coupling recess (30) until the first locking element (50) of the male coupling tongue (40) snaps together with the mating second locking element (60) of the female coupling recess (30).

3. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first locking element comprises a continuously curved bulb-shaped protrusion extending from the male coupling tongue (40).

4. The connection system according to claim 3, wherein the second locking element (60) comprises a female locking groove (270) which at least partially conforms to the bulb-shaped protrusion for interlocking engagement therewith.

5. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper guide surface (110) extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess (30), and wherein the upper guide surface (110) extends directly from the second locking element (60) of the female coupling recess (30) in a direction towards the insertion opening (32) of said female coupling recess (30).

6. A connection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower guide surface (130) is curved.

7. Connection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower guide surface (130) is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess (30).

8. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the male coupling tongue (40) is integrally formed with the first furniture part (10) and the female coupling recess (30) is integrally formed with the second furniture part (20).

9. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a side support surface (181) extends perpendicularly from the base (41) of the male coupling tongue (40) on the second furniture part (20) to directly abut against the support surface (171) on the first furniture part (10) to provide symmetrical side stability and bending resistance in the locked connected state between the first furniture part (10) and the second furniture part (20).

10. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the width (A) at the base (41) of the male coupling tongue (40) is wider than the width (B) of the male coupling tongue (40) at its first locking element (50).

11. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, upon insertion of the male coupling tongue (40), the first locking element (50) rests against an edge of the upper guide surface (110) before the lower guide surface (130) forces the male coupling tongue (40) to elastically deflect, the male coupling tongue (40) extending from a base surface of the second furniture part (20), the base surface extending perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40), a length (D) extending from the base surface to said edge, wherein the transverse locking surface (170) is angled at an upper edge (44) with the longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess, a length (C) extending from the base surface to said upper edge (44), wherein the length (D) is smaller than the length (C).

12. The connecting system according to claim 11, wherein the length (C) is smaller than the length (F) of the male coupling tongue (40) in its longitudinal direction when the first locking element (50) rests against the edge of the upper guiding surface (110).

13. The connection system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the length (F) of the male coupling tongue (40) in its longitudinal direction is smaller than the depth (P) of the female coupling recess (30).

14. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, upon insertion of the male coupling tongue (40), the first locking element (50) rests against an edge of the upper guide surface (110) before the lower guide surface (130) forces the male coupling tongue (40) to elastically deflect, the female coupling recess (30) being recessed from a base surface of the first furniture part (10), the base surface extending perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the female coupling recess (30), a length (E) extending from the base surface to said edge, the male coupling tongue (40) comprising a base (41) with a vertical surface (45) parallel to the longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40), facing the second side (116), wherein the vertical surface (45) transitions at the edge to an inclined surface (47) with respect to the longitudinal direction, the male coupling tongue (40) extends from a base surface of the second furniture part (20), the base surface extending perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a length (K) extending from the base surface to the edge, wherein the length (E) is smaller than the length (K).

15. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the male coupling tongue (40) comprises a base (41) with a vertical surface (45) parallel to a longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40), facing the second side (116), wherein the transverse locking surface (170), the first locking element (50) and the vertical surface (45) lock the male coupling tongue (40) in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

16. The connecting system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the male coupling tongue (40) comprises a base (41) having a vertical surface (45) parallel to a longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40), facing the second side (116), wherein the vertical surface (45) transitions to an inclined surface (47) with respect to the longitudinal direction, wherein the inclined surface (47) in the connected state faces an opposite second inclined surface (48) of the female coupling recess (30), the second inclined surface (48) transitions to the transverse locking surface (170), wherein in the connected state the inclined surface (47) and the second inclined surface (48) are spaced apart by a distance (d 1).

17. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper guiding surface (110) faces an opposite second surface (49) of the male coupling tongue (40) in the connected state, wherein in the connected state the guiding surface (110) and the second surface (49) are spaced apart by a distance (d 2).

18. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the male coupling tongue (40) comprises a removable locking element defining an outer contour of the male coupling tongue (40), wherein the locking element is configured to be arranged within the female coupling recess (30), whereby the removable locking element comprises said first locking element (50) configured to be in snap-connecting interlocking engagement with said mating second locking element (60) in the female coupling recess (30).

19. The connecting system according to claim 18, wherein the male coupling tongue (40) comprises a core (241), the core being positionable inside a cavity (242) of the removable locking element in an interlocked position of the respective mating surfaces (243, 244), such that the removable locking element defines said outer contour of the male coupling tongue (40), wherein the mating surfaces are at least partially symmetrically aligned with respect to the longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40), such that a removable locking element can be positioned around the core in a first position, in which, the first locking element (50) extends in a first radial direction (r1), and at the second direction, the first locking element (50) extends in a second radial direction (r2) opposite to the first radial direction (r 1).

20. A connection system according to claim 18, characterised in that said locking elements, when being in interlocking engagement with said matching second locking element (60) in the female coupling recess (30), are arranged to prevent the furniture parts from separating from each other when subjected to a separating force exerted between the first furniture part (10) and the second connection part, thereby preventing the male coupling tongue (40) from moving in the longitudinal direction of the male coupling tongue (40) relative to the female coupling recess (30) in the locked connection state between the first furniture part (10) and the second furniture part (20).

21. The connection system of claim 18, wherein the locking element is U-shaped.

22. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the female coupling recess (30) extends along a length (L) of the first furniture part (10), the locking element being slidable along said length (L) with respect to the male coupling tongue (40) when in said interlocking engagement, to be pushed out of said female coupling recess (30) and to be separated from the first (10) and second (20) furniture parts, so as to allow intentional separation of the first (10) and second (20) furniture parts upon disassembly.

23. The connection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first locking element (50) extends along a break length (L1 ') of the male coupling tongue (40) along a length (L') of the second furniture part (20), wherein the break lengths (L1 ') are separated by a male separation section (L2'), wherein the second locking element (60) extends along a break length (L1) of the female coupling recess (30) along a length (L) of the first furniture part (0), wherein the break lengths (L1) are separated by a female separation section (L2), whereby the first and second furniture parts are slidable in said interlocking engagement along said lengths (L) and (L ') relative to each other to a separated state, wherein the male separation sections (L2') overlap the second locking element (60), and the female separation sections (L2) overlap the first locking element (50), allowing the intentional separation of the first furniture part (10) and the second furniture part (20).

24. The connecting system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first furniture part (10) and the second furniture part (20) are connected along an inclined corner surface (301) at their corner joint (300), wherein the first furniture part (10) and the second furniture part (20) comprise interlocking surfaces formed as a recess (304) in the second furniture part and as a protrusion (303) in the first furniture part (10), the recess (304) being arranged between the male coupling tongue (40) and the corner edge (302) of the corner joint (300).

Images