EP3105396B1 - Bearing arrangement for a door - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bearing arrangement for a door, in particular for refrigerators, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The DE 20 2006 010 482 U1 discloses an arrangement for pivotally mounting a door of a refrigerator or freezer. The pivotable door is coupled to a lever, via which a locking device and a damping device are actuated. The locking device and the damping device can be actuated via a pivotable component which is moved through the door over a certain pivoting range. The rigid coupling of the damping device with the locking device via the pivoting part has the disadvantage that the damping forces or closing forces cannot be flexibly adapted to the respective door. In addition, only comparatively low damping forces and closing forces can be brought about.

The US 3,273,196 discloses a fitting for a swing door in which a closing spring and a damper device are arranged adjacent to a vertical axis. The shooting spring pretensions the door in the closing direction and acts on a curve guide connected to the axis. The damper device also acts on a cam with a cam.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bearing arrangement for a door, which can be flexibly adapted to the respective application with regard to the damping forces and closing forces with a locking device and a damper.

This object is achieved with a bearing arrangement with the features of claim 1.

According to the invention, a first cam track movable through the bearing axis is provided for moving the locking device and a second cam track movable through the bearing axis for moving the damper. The curve guides can have corresponding control projections which act on the locking device and / or on the damper. Two separate cam guides can be used for the locking device and the damper, but it is also possible to provide a single cam guide which then acts on both the locking device and the damping. By using curve guides, the forces for closing or damping can be set more precisely, since there is no longer a rigid coupling between the door and the closing device and the damper, but the coupling takes place via cam guides which act on the closing device and the damper when the door is pivoted. Both the locking device and the damper can be biased against the curve by a spring.

The first and the second cam track are preferably connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the bearing axis, so that a particularly compact construction is possible. The first and second cam guides can be arranged offset to one another in the axial direction or can be formed by a single disk on which control projections are formed.

According to a preferred embodiment, the second curve guide actuates the damper to damp the door both in the closing direction before reaching the closing position and in the opening direction before reaching the maximum opening position. As a result, a single damper can be used to provide closing damping and also opening damping. The damper is actuated by corresponding control projections on the second curve guide, the opening damping taking place before reaching the maximum opening position, which can be, for example, in a range between 90 ° and 180 °. The opening damping and the closing damping can extend over a pivoting range of the door of at least at least 5 °, preferably in the case of the shooting damping between 10 ° and 50 ° before the closing position and in the opening damping between 5 ° and 25 ° before the maximum opening position.

For a compact design, the locking device and the damper are housed in a housing that can either be installed inside a refrigerator or outside.

The damper is preferably designed as a linear pressure damper, which causes a higher damping force when compressed than when pulled apart. As a result, although the damper can provide high braking forces when closing or opening damping, the damper is barely or not noticeable by the user when moving in the opposite direction. Alternatively, a pull or rotary damper can be used instead of a pressure damper.

The damper is preferably rotatably mounted on the housing on one side and rotatably held on a swivel part on the opposite side. The second curve guide can have control projections which act on the swivel part and / or a roller arranged on the swivel part in order to actuate the damper when the door is moved.

The closing device preferably has a compression spring which is clamped between two end pieces. One end piece is rotatably mounted on the housing and the opposite end piece on a rotatably mounted actuating part. The rotatably mounted actuating part can then be moved via at least one control projection on the first cam guide, wherein a rotatable roller on which the at least one control projection acts can also be provided on the actuating part.

The actuating part for moving the locking device can be rotated independently of the pivoting part for actuating the damper, the pivoting part and actuating part preferably being rotatably mounted on the housing about the same axis.

Furthermore, a latching mechanism is provided according to the invention in order to latch the locking device in a tensioned state when the door is open. This makes it possible to move the door in a freewheel after tensioning the locking device, without friction or braking forces acting through the locking device. The locking mechanism has a locking pawl which can be actuated by a control cam, the locking pawl being biased by a spring into the position releasing the locking. This prevents the pawl from accidentally blocking the door. In addition, the locking mechanism enables a compact structure, because the locking device is only moved over part of the door's deflection path, so that only for this range of movement does installation space have to be made available.

The forces of the closing device and the damper act in a particularly advantageous manner in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the bearing axis of the bearing arrangement. The bearing axis is preferably substantially vertical, while the forces of the damper and the closing device act essentially horizontally in the installed state. This results in a particularly flat design of the bearing arrangement.

The bearing arrangement according to the invention can be used in particular for household appliances, for example for refrigerators or freezers. Of course, it can also be used for furniture or other household appliances.

Figur 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Kühlschrankes mit einer erfindungsgemäßen Ausführungsform einer Lageranordnung;

Figur 2

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geschlossener Tür;

Figur 3

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 35°-Winkel;

Figur 4

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 50°-Winkel;

Figur 5

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 67°-Winkel;

Figur 6

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 100°-Winkel;

Figur 7

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 155°-Winkel;

Figur 8

eine Ansicht der Lageranordnung mit geöffneter Tür in einem 180°-Winkel;

Figur 9

eine perspektivische Ansicht der Lageranordnung an einer Oberseite eines Schrankes, und

Figur 10

eine perspektivische Ansicht der Lageranordnung, die an einer Unterseite eines Schrankes 3 montiert ist.

The invention is explained below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Figure 1

a perspective view of a refrigerator with an embodiment of the invention a bearing arrangement;

Figure 2

a view of the bearing assembly with the door closed;

Figure 3

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 35 ° angle;

Figure 4

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 50 ° angle;

Figure 5

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 67 ° angle;

Figure 6

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 100 ° angle;

Figure 7

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 155 ° angle;

Figure 8

a view of the bearing assembly with the door open at a 180 ° angle;

Figure 9

a perspective view of the bearing assembly on an upper side of a cabinet, and

Figure 10

a perspective view of the bearing assembly, which is mounted on an underside of a cabinet 3.

A refrigerator 1 comprises a cabinet 3, on which a door 2 is rotatably mounted. For this purpose, a housing 5 with a Embodiment of a bearing arrangement according to the invention fixed. The bearing arrangement comprises a bearing axis 4 which is rotatably mounted in the housing and on which the door 2 is rotatably fixed. In Figure 1 the housing 5 is fixed with the bearing arrangement on the top of the cabinet 3, but it is also possible to provide the bearing arrangement with the housing 5 on the bottom of the cabinet 3. In an alternative embodiment, a bearing arrangement is also arranged inside the cabinet 3, mounting on the outside having the advantage that retrofitting to existing refrigerators is possible.

In Figure 2 the housing 5 of the bearing arrangement is shown with the housing cover removed, so that a closing device 10 and a damper 20 are visible.

The locking device 10 comprises a spring 11 designed as a compression spring, which is clamped between two end pieces 12 and 13. A first end piece 12 is rotatably mounted on the housing 5 about an axis 16. On the opposite side, the end piece 13 is mounted about an axis 17 which is arranged on a rotatable actuating part 18. The rotatable actuating part 18 is rotatably mounted on the housing 5 about the axis 19. The spring 11 is guided around a sleeve 14 which can be pushed onto a rod 15 in order to be able to compensate for the length between the two end pieces 12 and 13.

In the housing 5, a damper 20 is also provided, which is designed as a linear pressure damper with a housing 21 and a piston rod 22. The piston rod 22 can be pushed into the housing 21, high damping forces being provided when the piston rod 22 is pushed in via a corresponding piston, while the piston rod 22 is pulled out smoothly. The housing 21 is fixed to a holder 24 which is rotatably mounted on the housing 5 about an axis 25. The piston rod 22 is connected on the opposite side via a holder 26 to a swivel part 28, the holder 26 being rotatably mounted about an axis 27. The swivel part 28 is rotatably mounted about the axis 19 on the housing 5, on which the actuating part 18 is also mounted, wherein the actuating part 18 and the swivel part 28 can be rotated independently of one another about the axis 19.

To actuate the closing device 10 and the damper 20, a cam guide 30 is provided, which is arranged on the bearing axis 4 in a rotationally fixed manner. The Curve guide 30 comprises a plurality of control projections 31, 32 and 33, which act on the actuating part 18 and the pivoting part 28. For this purpose, a roller 40 is rotatably mounted on the actuating part 18, while a roller 41 is rotatably held on the pivoting part 28. Alternatively, the rollers can also be replaced by sliding elements, so that a process with as little friction as possible between the control projections and the actuating part or pivoting part 28 is ensured.

Furthermore, a latching mechanism is provided in the housing 5 in order to latch the locking device 10 in a tensioned position, the latching mechanism comprising a pivotable latching pawl 35 which is mounted on the housing 5 such that it can rotate about the axis 38.

If the door 2 is now opened from the closed position, as in Figure 3 is shown, the bearing axis 4 rotates the cam guide 30 counterclockwise, so that the first control projection 31 acts on the roller 40 in order to tension the spring 11 of the closing device 10. At the same time, in the pivoting range between the closed position and an opening angle of between 20 ° and 60 °, the damper 20 is released by rotating the control projection 31, whereby the pivoting part 28 rotates clockwise about the axis 19 until the pivoting part 28 stops 42 of the housing comes to rest. The pulling out of the piston rod 22 from the housing 21 and the associated pivoting of the pivoting part 28 takes place by means of the force of a spring 23 which is arranged between the holder 26 and the holder 24.

In Figure 4 the door 2 is arranged in an angular position of approximately 50 ° from the closed position. The damper 20 between the holder 24 and the holder 26 does not initially change its length when the closing device 10 is further tensioned by the control projection 31 acting on the roller 40 and thereby rotating the actuating part 18 further clockwise around the spring 11 of the closing device 10 compress.

When opening the door between an opening angle of 35 ° ( Figure 3 ) and 50 ° ( Figure 4 ) a control cam 34 of the locking mechanism also engages with an arm 37 of the locking pawl 35 so that it is rotated about the axis 38. As a result, a second arm 36 of the essentially V-shaped latch 35 is pivoted to the actuating part 18. The control curve 34 rotates the pawl 35 against the force of a spring 39, which biases the pawl 35 in the unlocked position.

If the door 2 is now pivoted further in the opening direction, the in Figure 5 Pass through the position shown, at which the arm 36 comes into engagement with the end piece 13 in order to lock the locking device 10. The control cam 34 now leaves the arm 37, the control projection 31 being designed such that the spring 11 relaxes slightly when it is locked in order to lock on the arm 36, so that the roller 40 can be lifted off the control projection 31.

If the door 2 is now moved further in the opening direction, for example up to an opening angle of approximately 100 ° ( Figure 6 ), the door 2 moves in freewheel mode, ie neither the closing device 10 nor the damper 20 exert closing or opening forces on the door 2. This is due to the fact that the locking device 10 is locked on the latch 35 and remains stationary, while the damper 20 rests on the stop 42 and is also arranged stationary.

If the door 2 is now moved further in the opening direction, a further control projection 33 of the cam guide 30 comes into engagement with the swivel part 28 and / or the roller 41 in order to rotate the swivel part 28 counterclockwise. As a result, the damper 20 is compressed and the piston rod 22 moves into the housing 21, whereby damping forces are generated. With a movement of an opening angle of about 155 ° ( Figure 7 ) up to the maximum opening position of about 180 ° ( Figure 8 ), the damper 20 is compressed thereby. The locking device 10 is still in the locked position and therefore does not exert any forces on the door 2. Opening angle maximum 90 ° to 180 °.

If the door 2 is now from the maximum opening position Figure 8 Moved in the closing direction, the damper 20 is first moved apart again from the compressed position, the movement being carried out by the spring 23, so that the user does not feel any forces when the damper 20 extends when the door 2 is closed. The door 2 is now moved further in the closing direction until the control projection 31 comes into contact with the roller 40 of the actuating part 18 at an opening angle of approximately 60 ° to 70 ° and at the same time the control cam 34 abuts the arm 37 of the latch 35. By slightly compressing the spring 11 of the locking device 10 and a pivoting of the locking pawl 35 by the control cam 34, the locking pawl can be moved into the unlocked position by the locking pawl 35 being pivoted about the axis 38 by the force of the spring 39.

If the door 2 is now moved further in the closing direction, the control projection 31 comes into engagement with the roller 41 at a closing angle between 20 ° and 60 ° in order to pivot the pivoting part 28 counterclockwise and thereby move the damper 20 into the compressed position , As a result, damping forces are also generated when the door 2 is closed. At the same time, the locking device 10 is effective since it was unlocked via the control cam 34, so that the spring 11 now rotates the actuating part 18 counterclockwise about the axis 19, the roller 40 running on the rear of the control projection.

If, due to manufacturing tolerances, the door 2 is closed beyond an angle of 0 °, this is also possible with the bearing arrangement shown, with a further control projection 32 being provided on the cam guide 30 in order to keep the maximum closing forces low.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the actuating part 18 of the closing device 10 and the pivoting part 28 of the damper 20 are partly actuated via the same control projections 31, which form a common curve. It is of course also possible to provide two separate cam guides on the bearing axis 4, one cam guide being exclusively responsible for the actuating part 18 and the second cam guide exclusively for the pivoting part 28. Furthermore, it is possible that the actuating part 18 and the pivoting part 28 are not mounted on a common axis 19. Each of these components can also have its own axis.

The shape of the control projections 31, 32 and 33 can be matched to the respective application. For example, it is possible to make the damping forces larger in an angular range shortly before reaching the maximum closed position than in an opening range between 20 ° and 30 °. In addition, the spring 11 of the closing device 10 can also be controlled via the cam guide 30 in such a way that the closing forces are kept low in the closed position in order to keep the forces on the seals low, while the closing forces are made larger in a slightly open area. Depending on the embodiment of the invention, the bearing axis 4 can be designed as a separate bearing axis. This means that the bearing axis, for example, during assembly is already installed in the door and the bearing arrangement is plugged onto the bearing axis, so that the bearing axis is indirectly connected to the cam guide.

In Figure 9 the bearing arrangement with the housing 5 is mounted on an upper side of a cabinet 3 and the bearing axis 4 protrudes downward. A door can then be mounted on the bearing axis 4 with a non-circular cross section, which is exposed to corresponding damping, opening and closing forces by the bearing arrangement.

Furthermore, the bearing arrangement can also be mounted on an underside of a cabinet, as shown in Figure 10 is shown. Then a door is mounted on the bearing axis 4 protruding upwards.

The bearing arrangement shown can be used on a right or left side of a cabinet 3 without the need for special right or left components.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

fridge

2

door

3

closet

4

bearing axle

5

casing

10

closing device

11

feather

12

tail

13

tail

14

shell

15

pole

16

axis

17

axis

18

actuating member

19

axis

20

damper

21

casing

22

piston rod

23

feather

24

holder

25

axis

26

holder

27

axis

28

pivoting part

30

curved guide

31

control projection

32

control projection

33

control projection

34

cam

35

latch

36

poor

37

poor

38

axis

39

feather

40

role

41

role

42

attack

Claims (13)

1. A bearing arrangement for a door (2), in particular for refrigerators or freezers, having a bearing axis (4) for the rotatable mounting of the door (2), a closing device (10), by means of which the door (2) is movable by the force of a force accumulator (11) over a specific pivot range in the closing direction, a damper (20) for damping a pivot movement of the door (2) over at least one pivot range, wherein the closing device (10) and the damper (20) are aligned in an essentially perpendicular plane in relation to the axis of rotation of the bearing axis (4), wherein a curve guide (30) is arranged indirectly or directly on the bearing axis (4), wherein a first curve guide (30) movable by the bearing axis (4) is provided for moving the closing device (10) and at least one second curve guide (30) movable by the bearing axis (4) is provided for moving the damper (20), characterized in that a catch mechanism is provided, to latch the closing device (10) in a tensioned state when the door (2) is open, whereby the catch mechanism has a catch pawl (35) actuable by a control curve (34) being provided directly or indirectly on the bearing axis of the bearing arrangement, whereby the catch pawl (35) is pre-tensioned by a spring (39) in the position which releases the latching.
2. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the first and the second curve guide (30) are connected in a rotationally-fixed manner to the bearing axis (4).
3. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and second curve guides (30) have control projections (31, 32, 33), which can act on the closing device (10) and/or the damper (20).
4. The bearing arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second curve guide (30) actuates the damper (20) for damping the door (2) both in the closing direction before reaching the closing position and also in the opening direction before reaching the maximum opening position.
5. The bearing arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the closing device (10) and the damper (20) are accommodated in a housing (5).
6. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 5, characterized in that the damper (20) is mounted so it is rotatable on the housing (5) on one side and is held so it is rotatable on a pivot part (28) on the opposite side.
7. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 6, characterized in that the second curve guide (30) has control projections (31, 32, 33), which act on the pivot part (28) or a roller (41) or sliding element arranged on the pivot part (28).
8. The bearing arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the closing device (10) has a spring (11), preferably a compression spring (11), which is tensioned between two end parts (12, 13).
9. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 8, characterized in that one end piece (12) is mounted so it is rotatable on the housing (5) and the opposing end piece (13) is arranged on a rotatably mounted actuating part (18).
10. The bearing arrangement according to Claim 9, characterized in that the rotatably mounted actuating part (18) is movable via at least one control projection (31, 32) on the first curve guide (30), wherein a rotatable roller (40) or a sliding element can be provided on the actuating part (18), on which the at least one control projection (31, 32) acts.
11. The bearing arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the damper (20) is designed as a linear compression damper, which causes a higher damping force during compression than during expansion.
12. A refrigerator or freezer (1) having at least one pivotable door (2), which is held on a cabinet (3) via at least one bearing arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims.
13. The refrigerator or freezer according to Claim 12, characterized in that the bearing arrangement is fixed on an outer side of the cabinet (3).

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