EP1664466A1

EP1664466A1 - Opening and closing latch device for furniture

Info

Publication number: EP1664466A1
Application number: EP04766356A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luciano Salice
Original assignee: Arturo Salice SpA
Current assignee: Arturo Salice SpA
Priority date: 2003-07-29
Filing date: 2004-07-29
Publication date: 2006-06-07
Also published as: TW200509839A; CN1829847A; ITRM20030136U1; WO2005012678A1

Abstract

Latch composed of a box (1, 4) inserted in which is a slider (2) controlled in translation by a spring (3) and comprising a hook (18) to catch a pin (9) placed on a guide of a drawer. A cam groove on the cover (4) of the box is travelled along by a ball (23) disposed on the slider (2) and held pressed by a spring (22) against the bottom of the groove to determine the four open, closed, released and locked positions of the drawer according to the position of the ball in the groove.

Description

OPENING AND CLOSING LATCH DEVICE FOR FURNITURE Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an opening and closing latch device for furniture, for brevity also called latch, to facilitate alternate operations to open and close drawers or other furniture provided with the possibility of sliding or being moved following a slight pressure thereon. State of the art

Known latches have the function of facilitating opening or closing of the doors of a piece of furniture, in this text simply defined furniture, or of drawers, according to the application for which they have been designed. These latches produce a slight contrasting force during the closing action, which is accumulated by elastic elements capable of releasing it in a subsequent phase when the opposite operation to opening is implemented. If a latch is used to facilitate opening of a drawer, the latter is maintained in its closed position by suitable devices, which may be separate from the latch or integrated with it, for example hooking elements, magnets or the like. In this case, to open the drawer it is first necessary to apply a slight thrust to the drawer to release the latch, which returns the elastic energy accumulated during the closing operation and exerts a force on the drawer in the opening direction. An advantage of these devices is that they also make it possible not to use handles or other similar grasping elements on the drawer, which are not always appreciated for aesthetic or other reasons.

Generally, the latches are fixed in part to fixed elements of the furniture to which the drawer belongs and in part to the drawer itself, and are constituted by several elements that at times can make assembly by inexperienced personnel difficult. Some known latches are described in the documents DE 29507917U, DE 3816091 , DE 19753319 and DE 10008350. However, these are devices that are complex to manufacture or mount, some of which are too delicate to guarantee a long-lasting operation. Summary of the invention A main object of the present invention is to produce a latch that overcomes the drawbacks indicated hereinbefore in a simple and inexpensive way and which is compact, sturdy and easy to apply to furniture.

Therefore, the present invention solves the problems mentioned hereinbefore by producing a latch with the characteristics claimed in claim 1.

In particular, the invention relates to a device, that can be locked and released by the action exerted by an external force, constituted by a sliding element, for brevity defined only slider, stressed by a spring movable along a guide of a drawer, or of another furniture element that has similar opening, fixed to a fixed part of the furniture, by means of a pulling element disposed on the movable part of the furniture, which is hooked by hooking elements of the slider and wherein elements to lock or to release movement of the slider are positioned between the slider and the container. Thanks to this solution, the latch of the invention is suitable to be applied simply directly to the guides for drawer opening, thus guaranteeing exact positioning with respect to the reciprocally sliding parts and consequently its correct operation. It is also characterized by fast and easy mounting that may be performed without the use of special tools, as it is connected in holes produced in the fixed part of the guide. It is also secure against dangers of breakage or detachment from the supporting element to which it is fixed. The latch also has compression springs or equivalent elastic means capable of controlling sufficient opening travel to allow easy manual action to complete opening of the drawer or, if necessary, to completely eliminate this action. Moreover, the device is thus a separate element, replaceable or interchangeable with other different devices, but applicable on the same guide or on the same furniture element in the same position and in the same way, so as to make use of the same hooking elements provided, such as stops, pulling elements, etc. The device may thus be interchangeable with closing or decelerating devices or be combined with these.

The dependent claims describe preferred embodiments of the invention. Brief description of the Figures

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention shall become more evident in the light of the detailed description of preferred, although not exclusive, embodiments of a latch, provided as non-limiting examples, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of the latch of the invention;

Figure 2 shows an assembled view of the latch in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the device in Figure 1 mounted on a drawer guide;

Figure 4 shows four different operating phases of the latch according to the invention;

Figure 5 shows an enlarged view of a component element of the latch according to the invention;

Figure 6 shows schematic views of a detail of the latch in Figure 1 in four different operating positions. Figure 7 shows a side view of a variant of embodiment of the latch of the invention; Figure 8 shows a top view of the latch in Figure 7;

Figure 9 shows a partially exploded perspective view of the latch in Figure 7; Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the latch in Figure 7 mounted on a drawer guide. Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to the Figures cited, a latch is represented, indicated as a whole with the reference S, generally, although not mandatorily fixed to a guide element of a drawer or to a plate 7, or to the side panel of the furniture or to any other suitable element without however departing from the scope of the invention. The latch S is fixed integral with the plate 7, for example it is hooked by means of two bent tabs or hooks 5 which are inserted into corresponding slits or slots 6 produced on the plate 7 or, alternatively, it can be welded or connected by another suitable means. The tabs 5 are locked inside the corresponding slots 6 of the plate 7 by means of a sliding movement. It is also possible, without departing from the scope of the invention, to produce the tabs on the fixed plate 7 and the slots on the latch S. In this embodiment of the drawer on which the latch of the invention is mounted, the extractable part of guide 8, on which the pulling element 9 integral with the drawer or with the guide part integral with the drawer is positioned, slides in the customary way on the fixed guide element or plate 7. In this variant the pulling element is constituted by a pin 9 projecting under the guide, although other equivalent solutions are also possible.

The latch S is shown with its component elements separated in Figure 1. It comprises a container 1 substantially in the shape of a parallelepiped, a slider 2, a helical spring 3, or other similar spring, which rests with one end on a shoulder of the container 1 and with the other end on the slider 2, and a cover 4. The assembled configuration of the latch is shown in Figure 2.

The container 1 has a longitudinal groove 10 open at one end. At this same end of the groove 10 there is a small projection 11 , while the opposite end of the groove constricts and forms a narrower hollow 12. Two shoulders 13 defined by the constriction between the hollow 12 and the projection 11 form stops that delimit the travel of the slider 2. On the bottom of the groove 10 and of the hollow 12 a longitudinal opening 14 is produced, which may be a through opening or only be an area with a thinner wall and the function of which is to improve the housing of the spring 3. In the position with the latch mounted, the spring 3 is placed in a compressed position between the bottom of the hollow 12 and the end of the slider 2 which is provided with a shank 15.

At the opposite end with respect to the shank 15, the slider 2 has a section with a lesser width and in the point of the constriction it forms two steps 16', 16", one of which has the function of counterstop for the stop constituted by the projection 11 of the container 1.

Immediately after the other step 16', the constricted part of the slider 2 is provided with a flexible side tab 17 that has a hook 18 at its free end. In the variant of the latch shown in the figures, this tab 17 is produced in one piece with the slider 2, in a suitable material that offers the due characteristics of flexibility and fatigue resistance, but can be constituted for example by a steel plate suitably housed on it, without departing from the scope of the invention. When the slider 2 is pushed inside the groove 10, for example during an operation to close a drawer, the elastic tab 17 slides against the end of the external wall of the groove and is bent towards the axis of the slider 2, delimiting with the front part 19 of the slider 2 a slit 20 corresponding to the diameter or to the corresponding dimension of the pulling element 9, as can be seen better in Figure 4. In the vicinity of the end provided with the shank 15, the slider 2 also has a seat 21 with a rectangular plane, closed on the bottom, situated in which is a flat spring 22 bent in the shape of a V, with a ball 73 resting on the outward facing side of it, as shown in Figure 1. The flat spring 22 thus pushes the ball 23 towards the inner side of the cover 4, when it is in the mounted position, and in particular towards the part of the seat 21 in which the vertex joining the two sides of the V-shaped spring is positioned.

The cover 4 has an substantially rectangular shape, provided with an opening 24 in the part at the level of the slider 2 to allow the axial passage of the pulling element or pin 9. The cover 4 is also provided with holes 25 to house corresponding shanks 26 of the container 1 to allow the parts to be assembled integrally.

On the inner face the cover 4 is provided with grooves of different depths according to points that form a track, as shown in detail in Figure 5. The track is constituted by a longer longitudinal section 27, the bottom of which varies in thickness and forms an inclined ramp terminating with a step 28, which marks the limit separating it from a transverse section 29 slightly curved in the plane. The bottom of the transverse section 29 has two sections with levels 29', 29" slightly staggered, in the deepest of which 29" a seat 30 is produced in the shape of a spherical cap. Running parallel to the section 27 is a second shorter longitudinal section 31, which joins with the front part of the section 27 by means of a section 32, the bottom of which is inclined, and at the end of which a short inclined ramp 33 is positioned to form a further step 34 in the connection point with the section 27.

Fig. 4 shows four positions of the assembled latch, which show its operation between an open position and a locked position and again in an open position. The positions indicated with the letters a), b), c), d) correspond to the four positions a), b), c), d) in Figure 6 of the ball 23 along the track of the cover. Here the positions are shown as transparency views through the cover 4. In position a) the pin or pulling element 9, and therefore the extractable guide 8 and the furniture part connected to it, can move freely. When the guide 8 is pushed towards the closed position, the pin 9 knocks against the front part 19 of the slider 2 and pushes it inside the groove 10 compressing the spring 3 until reaching the position b). During this sliding, the tab 17 is bent against the external wall of the groove 10 and the hook 18 hooks the pulling element 9, while as the ball 23 cannot travel along the section 32 as it is obstructed by the step 34, it travels along the ramp 27 and passes beyond the step 28. At this point inclination of the shank of the V-shaped spring 22 pushes the ball 23 along the deepest part 29" of the section 29 until it enters the seat 30 in the form of spherical cap, becoming locked in the position c). In this position the slider 2 cannot slide in the groove 10 and the hook 18 locks the pulling element 9, so that the furniture part remains locked in its closed position even if no external force is applied thereto. The operation to open the drawer is instead carried out in the following way. After a successive slight thrust in the closing direction of the drawer, the ball 23 is moved from the seat 30 towards the shallowest part 29' of the section 29 and the V- shaped spring 22 pushes it into the position d). By removing the external force on the furniture part, the helical spring 3 pushes the slider 2 towards the outside and the ball 23 travels along the sections 31 and 32 passing beyond the ramp 33 and the step 34, returning to the initial condition a) wherein the furniture part is released.

The variant of embodiment of the latch S in figures 7 to 10 in an end part has an elastic extension 38 provided with a shank 39 projecting from the same part of the hooks 5, which during assembly on the plate 7 can bend in the way indicated with the dashed line in Figure 7. In the mounted position the shank 39 is inserted into a suitable hole, not shown in Figure 10, produced in the plate 7 and thereby prevents sliding of the hooks 5 in the direction of release. In the event in which the latch S requires to be removed from the plate, the elastic extension 38 is lifted, disengaging the shank 39 and the latch is slide so as to remove the hooks 5 from the slits 6 in the plate 7. This variant of embodiment is also provided with an elastic hook 18 in the form of a point with at least one side 40 inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the latch S, so as to facilitate connection with the pulling element or pin 9. With this form blocking is prevented at the moment in which the pin 9 is hooked. This blocking between hook 18 and pin 9 could be caused for example by gaps present between the guides or by imperfect return springing of the hook 18 which occurs when the material ages or becomes worn through use. From the description above it is apparent that the device of the invention is composed of a minimum number of components, is simple to assemble and can be mounted on furniture with an operation that is not difficult even for inexperienced personnel. The particular embodiments described herein do not limit the content of this application, which covers all variants of the invention defined by the claims.

Claims

1. Opening and closing latch device (S) to facilitate closing and/or opening of a movable part of a piece of furniture with respect to the piece of furniture itself, comprising a box (1, 4) defining an internal cavity substantially in the form of an elongated parallelepiped and a longitudinal axis and with one open side, a sliding element (2) positioned inside the box (1 , 4) suitable to translate parallel to the axis between a first shoulder and a second shoulder, comprising at a first end (19) a flexible hook (18) suitable to catch a first hooking element (9) integral with said movable part of a piece of furniture, and comprising a seat for elastic means (3) positioned at a second end opposite the first, wherein the elastic means (3) exert an elastic force on the sliding element (2) suitable to cause said translation, a groove (27, 28, 29, 30, 31 , 32) placed inside said box (1, 4) and integral with it, with the surface of the bottom defining a cam and the plan layout of which forming a closed geometrical figure, follower means (23) integral with the sliding element (2) suitable to travel along the cam groove (27, 28, 29, 30, 31 , 32), so as to define a number of positions of the sliding element (2), characterized in that there are provided second hooking elements (5) on the box (1, 4) and on an element fixed to the piece of furniture, suitable to be inserted into slots (6) provided in the piece of furniture or in an element fixed to the piece of furniture.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided an elastic extension (38) at one end of the box (1, 4), having at least a projecting shank (39) suitable to be inserted into a hole produced in the piece of furniture or in an element integrally fixed to the piece of furniture.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the box (1, 4) comprises a cover (4) forming one of the sides of the cavity and a base (1) with connecting means (25, 26) suitable to join the cover to the base.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of positions of the sliding element (2) corresponds to a release position, a stop position and two intermediate opening and closing positions of said piece of furniture.

5. Device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cam groove (27, 28, 29, 30, 31 , 32) is placed on the inner face of the cover (4).

6. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the follower means comprise a ball (23) held in pressure against the bottom of the groove by a spring (22).

7. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook (18) is placed at one end of a flexible arm (17) producing a single body with the sliding element (2).

8. Device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hook (18) has a pointed end with at least one side (40) inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis, so as to facilitate connection with the hooking element (9).

9. Device as claimed in one of the previous claims, wherein the movable part of a piece of furniture is a drawer.