EP2654509B1

EP2654509B1 - Suspension and anti-disengagement group for wall cupboards

Info

Publication number: EP2654509B1
Application number: EP11802852.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Cattaneo
Original assignee: Leonardo SRL
Current assignee: Leonardo SRL
Priority date: 2010-12-21
Filing date: 2011-12-01
Publication date: 2015-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-01
Also published as: ITMI20102336A1; ES2552036T3; RU2566488C2; WO2012084130A1; IT1403593B1; RU2013127020A; EP2654509A1; PL2654509T3

Description

The present invention relates to a suspension and anti-disengagement group for wall cupboards which must be hooked to a wall.
As is well-known to experts in the field, a group for constraining a wall cupboard to a wall envisages the use of a hanging bracket comprising a hook which extends behind the cupboard itself in the direction of the wall, which cooperates with a bar or plaque fixed to the wall.
If direct upward forces are applied to the cupboard thus hooked, however, it can become disengaged from the support and fall, causing damage, even serious, not only to objects but above all to people. This possibility is at present even more probable as it is becoming increasingly customary to assemble wall cupboards at relatively low heights from the floor, which increases the risk indicated above of accidental disengagement, above all on the part of children.
Furthermore, safety regulations have entered and are entering into force in various countries, which impose the provision of suspension groups having an anti-disengagement function, capable of preventing an accidental unhooking of wall cupboards from the wall.
In this sense, it is therefore convenient to envisage a group which is capable of satisfying both the function of suspending the cupboard and also preventing its disengagement.
A solution in this respect has been conceived by the same applicant of the present invention in the previous Italian patent application MI2009A000699 .
In a first version of this group, an "anti-disengagement" functionality has been added to the hook and wall bar by means of a bead on the hook destined for interfering with an undercut of the bar.
Alternative solutions described therein also envisage the use of elastic elements, destined for becoming deformed during the coupling phase, subsequently returning to their original form, so as to hinder an accidental unhooking of the cupboard.
Although effective, these solutions, however, have various drawbacks.
The solution with the bead, for example, is subject to possible interference of the head of the bead with the fixing screws of the wall bar (in which case, during assembly, the bead is in a position coinciding with the screw), with a consequent incorrect positioning of the bead itself and an ineffective anti-disengagement.
Furthermore, due to its positioning, the bead is difficult to activate as it is difficult to reach and consequently its maneuvering causes complications during the assembly phase.
The solutions with elastic elements, on the other hand, have the disadvantage that an incomplete coupling between hook and bar could cause an incorrect deformation, making them ineffective for preventing the unhooking of the cupboard.
Furthermore, the introduction of an additional elastic element has certain costs and further assembly difficulties.
A general objective of the present invention is therefore to overcome these and other drawbacks of the known art.
This objective is achieved by a suspension and anti-disengagement group for wall cupboards having the characteristics specified in the enclosed independent claim and subclaims, which should be considered an integrant part of the present description.
More specifically, a suspension and anti-disengagement group for a wall cupboard has been conceived, comprising a hooking device in turn equipped with at least:

(i) an arm on a terminal end of which there is a hook, a lunette acting on said arm for activating its rotation,
(ii) a first depth-regulation screw to move said arm in a first direction,
(iii) a second height-regulation screw suitable for moving said lunette,

According to the present invention, the anti-disengagement functionality is obtained by means of an interference tooth associated with the lunette and a counter-flap associated with the support; the interference tooth can be moved in at least one interference position with the flap, in a hooking condition engaged with the support, thus preventing their reciprocal disengagement.
Further advantageous characteristics are object of the enclosed claims and subclaims, which should be considered an integrant part of the present description.
The structural and functional characteristics of the invention, and its advantages with respect to the known art, will appear more evident from the following description, referring to the enclosed drawings, which show examples of possible practical embodiments of the invention itself.
In the drawings:

figure 1 illustrates a hooking device of a group according to the present invention seen in perspective;
figure 2 is a sectional view of the device of figure 1;
figure 3 is a view of the device of figure 1 from above;
figure 4 is a sectional view of a suspension and anti-disengagement group according to the present invention, in an assembled condition;
figures 5a to 5f are a sectional view of the group of figure 4 in six consecutive moments of the assembly phase;
figure 6 is a sectional view of a first variant of the device of figure 1;
figure 7 is a sectional view of a second variant of the device of figure 1;
figures 8a and 8b illustrate the support of the group of figure 4 seen in perspective and in a side view respectively;
figures 9a and 9b illustrate a first variant of the support of the group seen in perspective and in a side view respectively;
figures 10a and 10b illustrate a second variant of the support of the group seen in perspective and in a side view respectively;
figures 11a and 11b illustrate a third variant of the support of the group seen in perspective and in a side view respectively;
figures 12a and 12b illustrate a fourth variant of the support of the group seen in perspective and in a side view respectively;
figure 13 illustrates a dimensioned detail of the group of figure 4;
figures 14 and 15 illustrate a further variant of the group of the previous figures.

With reference to figures 1 to 3, in these, a hooking device 11 can be observed, which is part of a suspension and anti-disengagement group 10 for a wall cupboard according to the present invention, the latter shown in figure 4.
The hooking device 11 comprises a casing 25 which houses an arm 13 on the terminal end of which there is a hook 14.
The arm 13 is engaged by a first regulation screw 15 in depth which moves it forwards or backwards in a linear direction.
For this purpose, the arm 13 comprises a female screw which is engaged on the first screw 15.
The casing 25 also houses a curved lunette 17 which acts on the arm 13 to activate its rotation; for this purpose, the lunette 17 is coupled with a second regulation screw 16 in height which acts on the lunette, which in turn pushes against the arm and forces it to rotate around a fulcrum which, in the embodiment shown, substantially coincides with a section of the first screw 15, close to its head.
In this way, the arm 13 can be moved in rotation and translation, so as to regulate the position of the hook 14 at its end.
The casing 25 is normally made of a plastic material and comprises at least two fixing pins 26 to the shoulder P2 of the wall cupboard, as can be seen in figure 4; there can obviously be more than two pins or they could be equivalently substituted by screws and pass-through holes.
The casing 25 is destined to be assembled on the cupboard so as to rest on the head (or upper wall) of the same, and inside the latter, which, for this purpose, comprises a hole in the lining P3 (or rear wall), through which at least part of the arm 13 and hook 14 protrudes externally.
According to the present invention, the device 11 also comprises an interference tooth 18 associated with the lunette 17.
In the embodiment of figure 4, the tooth 18 is integral with the lunette 17; said tooth 18 has a linear form (like a plate) and rests on the arm 13, on which it can run freely.
The overall form of the combination of lunette 17 and tooth 18 therefore has a curved section (coinciding with the lunette) which extends in continuity with a linear section (coinciding with the tooth).
In this way, the lunette 17, when activated by the second screw 16, activates the arm 13 by means of the tooth 18 itself.
The group 10 also comprises a support 12 which can be fixed to a wall M, for example by means of screws or pegs destined for cooperating with the hook 14 for the suspension of the wall cupboard; the support 12 can be either in the form of a plaque or a bar.
In accordance with the disclosures of the present invention, the support 12 comprises a counter-flap 19 which in the embodiment illustrated, is integral with the support 12 itself.
The functioning principle for achieving the anti-disengagement functionality envisages that the interference tooth 18 be movable in at least one interference position with the flap 19, in the condition of the hook 14 being engaged with the support 12, in order to prevent their reciprocal disengagement.
As can be clearly seen in figure 4 and from the detail of the support 12 in figures 8a and 8b, the counter-flap 19 is associated with the support 12 in an upper position with respect to the contact point of the hook 14 with the support 12, when they are in a reciprocal engagement condition.
The support 12 comprises an engagement window 20 which allows the insertion of the hook 14, thus causing the coupling between the latter and the support 12.
The window 20 is defined by at least a lower edge 21 on which the hook 14 rests and an upper edge 22 which comprises the flap 19; said window 20 can generally also comprise side edges (especially when the support 12 has a plaque conformation) or it can be without, for example when it is composed of a suitably shaped metallic section or similar. It should be noted that the hook 14 comprises a part of a body 14a, associated with the arm 13 and a free end 14b, which extends substantially in a perpendicular direction with respect to the part of the body 14a; the latter is tapered and comprises an aperture in which the support 12 rests with its lower edge 21.
With reference to the sectional view shown in figure 13, this illustrates a dimensioned enlargement of the arm 13 with the hook 14 and wall support 12.
With reference to this section, obtained with the group 10 positioned for assembly and according to a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall M on which the support is fixed, it can be noted that:

"d" is the distance between the lower edge 21 and the upper edge 22 of the window 20, the upper edge coinciding with the flap 19;
"sd" is the thickness of the interference tooth 18;
"ag" is the total thickness of the body 14a of the hook 14;
"at" is the height of the free end 14b of the hook 14 measured starting from the tapered end portion of the body 14a of the hook;
"sg" is the minimum thickness of the tapered portion of the body 14a of the hook.

In the embodiment described above, the following relation is applied: $ag = at + sg$
An optimum functionality with respect to the anti-disengagement is obtained when the following relation is verified: $ag < d \leq (ag + sd)$

in this way, in fact, once the engagement condition between the device 11 and support 12 has been verified, by advancing the tooth as far as its substantial overlapping with the hook 14, the latter can no longer become disengaged from the support 12.
What is described above can be better understood by referring to figures 5a-5f which show consecutive moments of the coupling phase of the group 10 of the present invention.
In figure 5a, the device 11 is coupled with the cupboard and the latter is still unhooked from the support 12, which is fixed to the wall M by means of screws, bolts, pegs or similar items.
The arm 13 carrying the hook 14 is brought to a maximum extraction condition of its seat by means of the first regulation screw 15 which is correspondingly actuated.
The tooth 18 is brought to rest on the arm 13, as the latter however is in a maximum extraction condition, the tooth 18 is not superimposed with respect to the hook 14. Figures 5b and 5c show two separate moments of an engagement phase of the hook 14 with the lower edge 21 of the window 20: it can be noted that as the arm 13 is in a maximum extraction condition, the tooth 18 does not interfere with the movement of the hook, as it is not buffered head-on against the flap 19 of the support and also because only the hook 14 enters the window 20.
In this condition (figure 5c) the cupboard is already hung to the wall M, but the anti-disengagement function has not yet been activated, the cupboard, moreover is still at a distance from the wall M and consequently not in the correct assembly position.
In figure 5d, in order to move the cupboard closer to the wall M, the first screw 15 is rotated which, prevented by the axial movement, causes the arm 13 to reenter the casing by reaction, creating two distinct conditions: the cupboard is brought close to the wall M and is buffered against the latter and the hook 14, due to the withdrawal of the arm 13, is positioned below the tooth 18.
The passage of the tooth 18 inside the window 20 is enabled by the fact that the free end 14b of the hook has moved beyond the lower edge 21 of the window and the hook 14 can therefore descend, engaging said edge 21 in its cavity, thus creating space for the passage of the tooth 18.
In the condition of figure 5d, the anti-disengagement functionality has therefore been obtained: when the tooth 18, in fact, is superimposed with respect to the hook 14, the latter cannot be released from the constraint with the support 12, as the free end 14a of the hook cannot move beyond the lower edge 21 of the window 20.
Figures 5e and 5f show how this anti-disengagement functionality is also maintained when the second screw 16 is activated, for example to rotate the arm 13 to allow the correct positioning of the wall cupboard.
By screwing the screw 16 (figure 5e), in fact, the lunette 17 presses on the arm 13 and causes its downward rotation, the tooth 18 however continues to remain superimposed with respect to the hook 14, thus maintaining said anti-disengagement functionality.
By unscrewing the screw 16 (figure 5f), the weight of the cupboard causes a rotation towards the top of the arm 13, but also in this case, the tooth 18 remains superimposed with respect to the hook 14, thus maintaining said anti-disengagement functionality.
The objectives mentioned in the preamble of the description are therefore achieved.
Numerous alternatives to the group 10 described so far are possible, all to be considered as an integrant part of the present invention.
With reference to figures 6 and 7, for example, these show two alternatives 111 and 211 of the device, in which the same parts of the device 11 are identified with the same reference numbers and exert the same function, and to which, for the sake of concision, no further reference will therefore be made.
It is sufficient to observe that in the first of these variants, 111, the tooth 118 is not integral with the lunette 117, but hinged to it: the latter therefore has an arched form with one of the free ends in contact with the screw 16 and the opposite end hinged with the tooth 118 which has a linear trend.
This embodiment has the advantage of allowing a better positioning of the tooth 118, which, regardless of the rotation of the arm 13, always remains in an optimum rest condition.
In the second embodiment 211, on the other hand, the lunette 217 has the opposite end to that associated with the screw 16 equipped with a hole in which the leg 218a of the tooth 218 can be traversably inserted with the interpositioning of an elastic element 218b, such as a spring or similar item.
This variant allows the tooth 18 to be always kept in a complete extraction condition, but at the same time allowing backward movements (towards the lunette 217), necessary, for example, when, for certain dimensioning choices, it comes into contact with the upper edge 22 of the support 12, for example during the coupling phase with the latter.
As far as the support 12 is concerned, in addition to the embodiment shown in figures 8a and 8b and discussed so far, it is illustrated in some variants: 112 in figures 9a and 9b, 212 in figures 10a and 10b, 312 in figures 11a and 11b, 412 in figures 11a and 11b.
Also in this case, the same parts of the support 12 are identified with the same reference numbers and exert the same function; no further reference will therefore be made thereto.
As can be observed, in general, in all the embodiments 12, 112, 212, 312 and 412, the support has a plate-like area equipped with holes or looped seats for fixing to the wall M by means of screws, pegs or similar items.
As can be noted in the comparison between the variants 12 and 112, the holes and/or looped seats can be produced in the plate-like area either in correspondence with one of its portions lower than that in which the hook 14 is installed (i.e. not in correspondence with the window 20), as in the solution with reference 12, or in correspondence with this area, as in the solution with reference 112.
The lower edge 21 and upper edge 22 (comprising the flap 19) protrude from this plate-like area in a substantially perpendicular direction, defining the window 20 in which the hook 14 passes during its coupling.
Whereas in the embodiment 12 described above, the flap 19 only extended perpendicularly to the plate-like area equipped with holes, said flap 19, and consequently the upper edge 22, can also be produced differently: an example in this sense is illustrated by the solution with reference 212, in which the upper edge 222 is folded downwards, substantially symmetrically to the lower edge 221.
The three solutions 12, 112 and 212 are particularly suitable when the support is produced as a section or bar suitable for being fixed to the wall for the whole length of the cupboard which is to be hung, so that a plurality of devices 12, 112, 212 situated at the same height and distributed on the back of the cupboard are coupled with the same support.
A particularly advantageous solution when the support is in the form of a plaque (and therefore particularly appropriate for being associated with only one device 12,112,212) is shown in figures 11a and 11b: in this solution, the support 312 comprises two side edges which define the window 320 and also sides, forming, together with the upper edges 322 and lower edges 321, a real frame.
This variant has the additional advantage of preventing a side release of the hook from its engagement with the support.
Yet another variant which has proved to be particularly useful when the support; is in the form of a plaque is shown in figures 12a and 12b and indicated with the reference 412, wherein this latter window 420 is defined on four sides, by the upper edge 422, lower edge 421 and side edges.
The advantages obtained in this latter example are substantially the same as the support 312 and consequently no further reference will be made thereto.
Furthermore, although examples have so far been provided of devices 11, 111, 211 suitable for being housed inside the wall cupboard (and for this purpose equipped with fixing pins 26 to the shoulder P2 of the latter), in the light of the explanation provided so far, an expert in the field can apply the disclosures of the present invention in general to all types of suspension groups for wall cupboards, regardless of how they are fixed to the cupboard, so as to confer an anti-disengagement functionality.
An example in this sense is shown in figures 13 and 14 which illustrate a device 311 suitable for being inserted in a seat situated in the shoulder of the cupboard itself, which is suitably milled for the purpose.
Also in this case, as already specified above, the same parts of the device 11 are identified with the same reference numbers and exert the same function, and consequently no further reference will be made thereto.
It is sufficient to note that in this case the housing casing 325 has no fixing pins 26, and is associated with an additional casing 340 which is substantially cup-shaped and equipped with holes in which screws are positioned for fixing to the cupboard; although not shown, it can be understood that these fixing screws extend substantially on the same plane as the arm 13.
Another difference that can be observed relates to the first 15 and second 16 regulation screws: these, in fact, in the devices 11, 111 and 211 described above, were substantially parallel and both accessible from the side of the casing 25 of the device opposite that facing the hook 14.
Due to its rotation, the first screw 15, in fact, caused the linear movement of the arm 13 and the second screw 16, by moving into the casing, consequently actuated the lunette 17; in the present example, on the other hand, they are both prevented from axial movement and therefore both exert the role of worm screws.
In the case of the device 311, in fact, in order to allow the actuation of said screws 15 and 16, their heads must be provided with a toothing on which corresponding shaped shafts 315 and 316 are engaged, having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to that of the screws 15 and 16: these shafts 315, 316 are accessible from the outside of the seat where the casing 325 is housed, for example by means of holes or the like, and a user can therefore activate the shafts 315 and 316 to obtain the rotation of the screws 15 and 16 and the functionalities described above.
As a result, it can be noted that the fulcrum around which the arm 13 rotates is not, in this case, a screw 15, but a specific threaded pawl 350 engaged on the screw 15 and rotatingly on the arm 13 itself; it should also be noted that in this case the lunette 17 is not activated directly by the screw 16, but by a threaded sleeve 351 associated with both the screw 16 (axially sliding due to the rotation of the screw 16) and the lunette 17.
The further functionalities relating to the anti-disengagement and relative characteristics are the same described above and consequently reference should be made to what is specified above for an understanding thereof.
Furthermore, also in this case, the tooth 18 and the lunette 17 could be integral, as in the example described immediately above, or hinged, analogously to the embodiment of figure 6, or again equipped with an elastic element, analogously to the embodiment of figure 7.
Finally it should be pointed out that the device 311 is particularly useful when coupled with a support 412 such as that shown in figures 12a and 12b cited above, as the group deriving therefrom is particularly compact and robust.
Other additional variants are also possible to what has been described so far, all forming part of the present invention.
The scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.

Claims

A suspension and anti-disengagement group for a wall cupboard comprising:
- a hooking device (11,111,211,311) equipped with at least:
an arm (13) on a terminal end of which there is a hook (14), a lunette (17,117,217) acting on said arm (13) for activating its rotation, a first depth-regulation screw (15) to move said arm (13) in a first direction and

a second height-regulation screw (16) suitable for moving said lunette (17,117,217), and

- a support (12,112,212,312,412) which can be fixed to a wall (M),
said hook (14) being suitable for cooperating with said support (12,112,212,312,412) for the suspension of said wall cupboard, wherein said group also comprises an interference tooth (18,118,218) associated with the lunette (17,117,217), and a counter-flap (19) associated with the support (12,112,212,312,412), said interference tooth (18,118,218) being movable in at least one interference position with the flap (19), in the condition of the hook (14) engaged with the support (12,112,212,312,412), so as to prevent their reciprocal disengagement, characterized in that the support (12,112,212,312,412) comprises an engagement window (20) for the insertion of said hook (14), said window (20) being defined at least by a lower rest edge (21) for the hook (14) and an upper edge (22) comprising said flap (19).
The group according to claim 1, wherein the counter-flap (19) is associated with the support (12,112,212,312,412) in an upper position with respect to a contact point of the hook (14) with the support (12,112,212,312,412) in a reciprocal engagement condition.
The group according claim 1 or 2, wherein the hook (14) comprises a part of a body (14a), associated with said arm (13) and a free end (14b), substantially perpendicular with respect to the part of the body, and wherein the distance (d) between the lower edge (21) and the upper edge (22) of the window (20) is equal to or slightly higher than the total thickness of the body (14a) of the hook measured in the same direction, so as to allow its insertion, said distance (d) at the same time being less than the sum of the thickness of the body (14a) of the hook plus the thickness of the interference tooth (18) measured in the same direction, so as to prevent its disengagement.
The group according to claim 3, wherein, measured along the same direction of the same plane and defined:
"d" the distance between the lower edge (21) and the upper edge (22) of the window (20), the upper edge coinciding with the flap (19);

"sd" the thickness of the interference tooth (18);

"ag" the total thickness of the body (14a) of the hook (14);

"at" the height of the free end (14b) of the hook (14) measured starting from the tapered end portion of the body (14a) of the hook;

"sg" is the minimum thickness of the tapered portion of the body (14a) of the hook,

the following relation ag<d≤(ag+sd) is obtained.
The group according to one or more of the previous claims 1 to 4, wherein said tooth (18) is integral with said lunette (17).
The group according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, wherein said tooth (118) is hinged to said lunette (117).
The group according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, wherein said lunette (217) has one end associated with said tooth (218) equipped with a hole in which a leg (218a) of the tooth (218) is traversably inserted with the interpositioning of an elastic element (218b), such as a spring or similar item.
The group according to one or more of the previous claims 1 to 7, wherein said support (12,112,212,312,412) has a plate-like area equipped with holes or looped seats for fixing to the wall by means of screws, pegs or similar items, said lower edge (21) and upper edge (22) protruding in a substantially perpendicular direction from said plate-like area.