EP3649314B1 - Flap fitting and item of furniture - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a piece of furniture according to the preamble of claim 1.

the WO 2009/060723 A1 discloses a piece of furniture with a flap fitting, in which a housing plate is fixed to a furniture body, on which a support lever and a control arm are rotatably mounted. The support lever and the control arm are also rotatably mounted on a connection to the flap, so that there is a parallelogram-like guide between the body and the flap. The disadvantage of this flap fitting is that the pivot axes on the support lever and the control lever are provided at fixed points on the housing plate or the connection, so that in order to achieve the desired pivoting movement of the flap with an open position protruding upwards and forwards into the room, the pivot points on the Housing plate are relatively far apart, which precludes the requirement for a compact design. In addition, the actuation of the flap fitting is comparatively stiff.

In the EP 2 138 658 A1 discloses a flap fitting for a furniture flap, in which the furniture flap can be moved via an actuating arm and a control arm, which are mounted via hinge axes with a connection to the furniture flap. When opening, the furniture flap pivots from an essentially vertical position into an almost horizontal position.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a piece of furniture that includes a compactly constructed flap fitting and allows the user to open and close the flap easily.

This object is achieved with a piece of furniture having the features of claim 1.

In the piece of furniture according to the invention, an instantaneous center of the flap is below the handle element in a closed position and above the handle element in a maximum open position. In this case, only the support lever is connected in a stationary manner to a housing via a first axis of rotation, while the control lever is articulated to the housing via a control element is mounted so that the fourth axis of rotation moves relative to the housing during an opening or closing movement. As a result, a trajectory of the flap can be set optimally and the effort required by the user can be minimized.

In the case of a planar movement of a rigid body, the instantaneous center is that point in space around which the body can be regarded as only rotating at the moment. In a plane motion of a rigid body with a translational motion and a rotational motion, these are combined into a pure rotational motion about the instantaneous fulcrum, called the instantaneous center.

During the movement of the flap, the instantaneous center continues to change in each recorded position. If these positions are determined, a path results in relation to a spatially fixed reference system, in the present case to the stationary body, on which the instantaneous pole runs. The instantaneous center of the flap can be determined for any point on the flap or for points of other components that are connected to the flap. In the proposed technical solution, it is preferred to determine the instantaneous center based on the second and third axes of rotation, which are arranged at the connection of the flap.

The flap movement is preferably determined in the currently observed snapshot by the first line connecting the first to the second axis of rotation and the second line connecting the fourth to the third axis of rotation, which in principle represents a four-bar linkage. The first line connecting the first to the second axis of rotation represents the line of action of the force of the support lever, while the second line connecting the fourth to the third axis of rotation represents the line of action of the force of the control lever. The intersection of the extensions of the first and second connecting lines gives the position of the instantaneous pole.

The path of the instantaneous pole of the flap preferably runs at a distance from the gripping element during an opening movement of the flap. Precisely when the instantaneous pole and the gripping element coincide too closely, tolerances on the joint axes can lead to jamming. The distance between the path of the instantaneous pole and the gripping element can therefore correspond, for example, to at least 20% of the length of the carrying lever, preferably at least 40% of the length of the carrying lever. In an advantageous Configuration is the distance of the instantaneous center of the handle element in the closed position of the flap is greater than the length of the support lever.

For smooth pivoting, the distance between the instantaneous center and the gripping element can be at least 50%, in particular at least 70%, of the distance between the gripping element and the first axis of rotation over the entire path of the instantaneous center.

During an opening movement of the flap, the path of the instantaneous center can initially run in an arc-shaped upward direction and then lower again shortly before the maximum opening position is reached. As a result, the flap can be easily fixed in the maximum open position, in particular when the instantaneous center shifts in the direction of the first axis of rotation of the support lever shortly before the maximum open position is reached.

In one embodiment, the control element for the control lever is designed as a gear wheel. The gear wheel can be in engagement with a further gear wheel, which is arranged non-rotatably with the support lever about the first axis of rotation. Then, by pivoting the support lever, the further gear wheel and the gear wheel that is articulated to the control lever are driven, so that an exact movement of the control lever is specified. Instead of a gear, the control element can also be designed as a further lever, with the design as a gear having the advantage that it can be driven by a further gear.

An energy store is preferably provided, which pretensions the flap in a closed position in the closed position and in an opening area in the open position. As a result, the flap can be operated easily for the user, since when the flap is pivoted from a closed position, the latter only initially has to overcome the force of the energy accumulator, which then, after overriding a dead center, supports the user in opening it, it also being possible for the flap to automatically pivoted in a certain opening range into an open position by the force accumulator. During the closing process, the force of the energy storage device must be overcome until the energy storage device then pretensions the flap in the closing direction again. For easy operation, a handle element on the flap can be arranged below the flap and facing the operator when the flap is in the open state.

Figur 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines erfindungsgemäßen Möbels mit einem Klappenbeschlag;

Figur 2

eine perspektivische Ansicht der Frontblende mit einem Klappenbeschlag;

Figuren 3A und 3B

zwei Ansichten des Möbels der Figur 1 mit einer geöffneten Klappe;

Figuren 4A und 4B

zwei Ansichten des Schwenkbeschlages in einer geschlossenen Position;

Figur 5

eine Ansicht des Schwenkbeschlages mit teilweise abgenommenem Gehäuse in einer Schließposition;

Figuren 6 bis 8

mehrere Ansichten des Klappenbeschlages der Figur in unterschiedlichen Positionen;

Figur 9

eine Ansicht des Klappenbeschlages in einer Öffnungsposition;

Figuren 10 bis 13

schematische Ansichten eines Möbels mit einem erfindungsgemäßen Klappenbeschlag, bei dem die Bahn des Momentanpols der Drehachsen an der Anbindung der Klappe eingezeichnet ist, und

Figur 14

eine Ansicht eines modifizierten Klappenbeschlages, der in einer Seitenwand eines Möbels angeordnet ist.

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

figure 1

a perspective view of a piece of furniture according to the invention with a flap fitting;

figure 2

a perspective view of the front panel with a flap fitting;

Figures 3A and 3B

two views of the furniture figure 1 with an open flap;

Figures 4A and 4B

two views of the swivel fitting in a closed position;

figure 5

a view of the swivel fitting with the housing partially removed in a closed position;

Figures 6 to 8

several views of the flap fitting of the figure in different positions;

figure 9

a view of the flap fitting in an open position;

Figures 10 to 13

schematic views of a piece of furniture with a flap fitting according to the invention, in which the path of the instantaneous center of the axes of rotation is shown at the connection of the flap, and

figure 14

a view of a modified flap fitting, which is arranged in a side wall of a piece of furniture.

A piece of furniture 1 comprises a furniture body 2, for example for a wall unit in a kitchen, in which figure 1 the back wall was omitted. The furniture body 2 is closed on a front side by a pivotably mounted flap 3 . To guide the flap 3 , a flap fitting 4 that has a housing 5 is mounted on opposite side walls of the furniture body 2 . Each flap fitting 4 comprises a support lever 6 and a control lever 7 which are connected to the flap 3 via a connection 9 are. The two connections 9 of the opposing flap fittings 4 are synchronized via a rod 8, so that when the flap 3 is opened and closed, the flap fittings 4 are moved essentially synchronously.

In figure 2 a flap fitting 4 with the flap 3 without a furniture body 2 is shown. The housing 5 of the flap fitting 4 comprises two side walls 50 and 51 which are spaced apart from one another by a large number of spacers 52 . Other housing shapes can also be used for the housing 5.

In the Figures 3A and 3B the flap 3 is shown in an open position. An upper area of the flap 3 has been pivoted forward away from the furniture body 2, while a lower area of the flap 3, on which a handle element (not shown) is mounted, has been pivoted essentially vertically upwards. In this respect, the user only has to perform a small horizontal movement and essentially a vertical movement when opening and closing the flap 3 .

In the Figures 4A and 4B the flap fitting 4 is shown in a closed position. The support lever 6 and the control lever 7 are partially arranged parallel to one another and run essentially in the vertical direction up to the connection 9 which is mounted on the flap 3 .

In figure 5 the flap fitting 4 is shown in a closed position without the side wall 50 of the housing. The support lever 6 is articulated at one end about a pivot axis 61 on the connection 9 and on the opposite side about a pivot axis 60 provided on the housing 5 . A first gear wheel 10 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the support lever 6 about the axis of rotation 60 and meshes with a second gear wheel 11 which is mounted on the housing 5 such that it can rotate about an axis of rotation 12 .

An axis of rotation 70 is provided on the second gear wheel 11 at a distance from the axis of rotation 12 of the gear wheel 11, on which axis the control lever 7 is rotatably mounted. The control lever 7 is mounted on the opposite end so that it can rotate about an axis of rotation 71 on the connection 9 . The axis of rotation 70 thus moves during an opening and closing process of the flap 3, which is held on the connection 9.

The connection 9 can be made in one piece or in several pieces.

In order to partially compensate for the weight of the flap 3 during opening and closing, an energy accumulator 20 is provided, which comprises three springs 21, in particular tension springs in the exemplary embodiment shown, which are arranged between a first spring holder 22 and a second spring holder 24. The second spring holder 24 is fixed to the housing 5 via a fastening 25 . The spring holder 22 is connected to a movable holder 18 via a rod 23 . A receptacle 19 is provided on the holder 18 , on which the rod 23 of the energy storage device 20 is fixed, so that the holder 18 is prestressed by the energy storage device 20 . The holder 18 has a guide element 17 which is mounted in a cam guide 16 of a control disk 15 . The control disk 15 is mounted so that it can rotate about an axis of rotation 14 that is provided on the housing 5 . Furthermore, the control disk 15 is coupled in a torque-proof manner to a third gear wheel 13 which meshes with the first gear wheel 10 .

Various positioning options for positioning the rod 23 of the force accumulator 20 are formed on the receptacle 19 of the holder 18, so that the spring action can already be optimally preset to the weight forces of the flap 3 to be compensated by selecting a suitable position. Instead of the positioning options, stepless presetting can also be provided, for example in the form of a screw/nut connection, through which the position of the rod 23 relative to the holder 18 can be changed.

The term "gear wheel" is understood to mean rotary disks with external teeth, the external teeth optionally extending over the entire circumference or only part of the circumference. Alternatively, toothed segments, internal gearing or other components can be used as gearwheels, on which teeth are provided for the form-fitting engagement with an adjacent gearwheel.

A damper 30 is also provided on the housing 5, which is designed as a linear damper, in particular as a fluid, liquid or air damper, which is held on a fastening element 31 on the housing 5 and comprises a piston-cylinder unit, which when compressed Damping forces generated. On the side facing away from the fastener 31 is a Contact surface 32 is provided, for example a contact roller, which can be contacted by an actuating element 33 on the holder 18.

For an opening operation, a handle arranged in the lower area of the flap 3 is operated by a user in order to move the flap 3 forwards and upwards. In figure 6 the flap 3 is shown in a slightly open position. The energy accumulator 20 is tensioned further at the beginning of the opening movement, since the flap 3 is pretensioned in the closing direction in the area of the closed position. After a dead center has been overcome, the energy accumulator 20 supports the movement of the flap 3 in the opening direction.

If the flap 3 is moved further in the opening direction, as shown in figure 7 is shown, both the support lever 6 pivots about the axis of rotation 60 and the control lever 7 pivots about the axis of rotation 70, which is arranged on the rotatable gear wheel 11. From the closed position ( figure 5 ) to the position in figure 7 the gearwheel 11 has been rotated by approximately 90°, so that the axis of rotation 70 has also shifted. The gears 10 and 11 are engaged so that the two support levers 6 and the control lever 7 are coupled to one another both in the area of the housing 5 and at the connection 9 . The rotation of the gear wheel 10 also drives the third gear wheel 13, which rotates the control disk 15. Turning the control disk 15 moves the cam guide 16, which allows the springs 21 of the energy store 20 to contract during an opening movement after the dead center has been exceeded, so that the energy store 20 supports the opening process.

The flap 3 is in accordance with figure 8 further moved in the opening direction with an upper end of the lid 3 protruding forward and upward. A lower area of the flap moves essentially vertically upwards just before the opening on the furniture body 2.

In figure 9 the maximum opening position of the flap fitting 4 is shown. The flap 3 is slightly inclined to the horizontal, for example in a range between 10° and 20°, and largely exposes the opening area on the furniture body 2 . Before the maximum opening position is reached, the opening movement can be slowed down, for example by a damper that is arranged in the connection 9 . Alternatively or additionally, the damper 30 is provided in the housing 5, which is compressed by the actuating element 33 on the holder 18, as is shown in FIG figure 8 is shown.

For a closing movement, the user pulls the flap 3 downwards against the force of the energy accumulator 20 until the flap 3 is again in the closed position shown in FIG.

In the illustrated embodiment, three gears 10, 11 and 13 are arranged in the housing 5. It is also possible to provide a gear with a predetermined gear ratio in the housing 5 in order to adapt the tensioning and discharging of the energy accumulator 20 even more to the weight of the flap 3 and other parameters.

In the Figures 10 to 13 the kinematics of the flap fitting 4 according to the invention is shown schematically. In figure 10 the flap 3 is shown in a closed position, and the support lever 6 and the control lever 7 are arranged within the furniture body 2, the support lever 6 being rotatably mounted about a stationary axis of rotation 60 together with the gear 10 designed as a control element. The control lever 7 is mounted about an axis of rotation 70 which changes during the opening movement of the flap 3 and is rotatable on a gear wheel 11 in the exemplary embodiment shown. However, it is also possible to provide the axis of rotation 70 on an articulated lever instead of on a gear wheel 11. In addition, the support lever 6 is rotatably mounted via an axis of rotation 61 and the control lever 7 is rotatably mounted via an axis of rotation 71 on a connection to an inner side of the flap 3, the Connection 9 can optionally be one or more parts. In figure 10 a handle element 40 is also shown, which is mounted on an outside of the flap 3 in a lower area, with a handle section of the handle element 40 being arranged above a lower end edge of the plate-shaped flap 3 .

Alternatively, the gripping element 40 can also be arranged on the end face of the flap 3, for example in the form of a profile rail, preferably with an intervention option or an undercut.

The intersection of the first connecting line L1, which connects the axes of rotation 60 and 61, and the second connecting line L2, which connects the axes of rotation 70 and 71, designates the instantaneous pole M of the flap 3, which extends from a closed position to a maximum open position along a relative to the furniture body 2 stationary web B runs. In this case, the instantaneous pole M is provided at a distance from the grip element 40 in each open position, so that jamming during an opening or closing movement can be reliably avoided. The distance of the grip element 40 to the instantaneous pole In the closed position of the flap 3, M is greater than the length of the support lever 6. If the flap 3 is now moved in the opening direction by the grip element 40, the flap 3 moves into a figure 11 shown position. The instantaneous center M has migrated upwards and towards a front side, the distance between the instantaneous center M and the grip element 40 still being greater than the length of the support lever 6. With a further opening movement, the instantaneous center M moves further upwards, as is shown in figure 12 is shown. In this position, the instantaneous center M is already arranged above the handle element 40 , the instantaneous center M hardly running vertically in this opening area, but essentially horizontally towards the furniture carcass 2 .

The maximum opening position of flap 3 is in figure 13 shown. The instantaneous pole M has not been moved upwards in the last opening area, but falls slightly along the path B and only moves towards the furniture carcass 2 . Even in the maximum opening position, the distance between the instantaneous center M and the axis of rotation 60 is greater than the distance between the handle element 40 and the axis of rotation 60. This is the case for the entire opening area of the flap 3, with the distance between the instantaneous center M and the axis of rotation 60 preferably being is at least 20%, in particular at least 40%, greater than the distance of the handle element 40 from the axis of rotation 60 in order to ensure smooth movement.

The flap fitting 4 exhibits kinematic self-locking from a certain opening angle of the flap 3, i. H. the flap 3 remains in an end position from a certain opening angle even without spring support.

Like the kinematics of Figures 10 to 13 shows, the flap 3 can be opened so far with a small horizontal force until the support by the force accumulator 20 engages and the flap 3 opens further with the help of a spring. For the closing process, the user then has to pull the handle element 40 downwards until the force of the force accumulator 20 is overcome and the flap is then automatically pulled into the closed position via the force accumulator.

In the Figures 1 to 9 a flap fitting 4 is fastened to the inside of a side wall of a furniture body 2 in each case. In figure 14 the flap fitting 4 is not integrated on an inside but in a side wall of the furniture body 2 . For this purpose, the side wall comprises a panel-shaped core material 80, for example made of a wood material, on which the housing 5 of the flap fitting 4, either over the entire width of the core material 80 or at a recess in the core material 80, which extends over only part of the width of the core material 80. The housing 5 and the core material 80 are covered on the outside by an outer layer 81 and on the inside by an inner layer 82, with the outer layer 81 and inner layer 82 optionally also being able to have the same construction, for example from a film or a decorative layer. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the inner layer 82 is fixed to the core material 80 and the housing 5 via attachment points. The housing 5 can be glued to the core material 5 or can be connected to fastening means. Due to the arrangement of the housing in the side wall of a piece of furniture, the housing is only visible from one end when the flap 3 is open, when the support lever 6 and the control lever 7 protrude forward.

Reference List

1

furniture

2

furniture body

3

flap

4

flap fitting

5

Housing

6

support lever

7

control lever

8th

pole

9

connection

10

gear

11

gear

12

axis of rotation

13

gear

14

axis of rotation

15

control disc

16

cornering

17

guide element

18

holder

19

recording

20

energy accumulator

21

Feather

22

pen holder

23

pole

24

pen holder

25

attachment

30

mute

31

fastener

32

contact surface

33

actuator

40

grip element

50

Side wall

51

Side wall

52

spacers

60

axis of rotation

61

axis of rotation

70

axis of rotation

71

axis of rotation

80

core material

81

outer layer

82

inner layer

83

attachment points

B

Rail

M

instantaneous pole

L1

First connection line

L2

Second connection line

Claims (11)

1. An item of furniture having a body (2), on which a flap (3) is mounted so it is pivotable, whereby the flap (3) is fixed to the body (2) by means of two flap fittings (4), wherein the flap fitting (4) is arranged on the body (2) and comprises a main body (5), on which a supporting lever (6) is rotatably mounted around a first axis of rotation (60), and the supporting lever (6) is connected via a second axis of rotation (61) to a flap (3) using an attachment (9), and a control lever (7), which is connected via a third axis of rotation (71) via the attachment (9) to the flap (3), wherein the control lever (7) is articulated via a fourth axis of rotation (70) with a control element (11) and the main body (5), and the flap (3) is pivotable via a handle element (40), whereby only the supporting lever (6) is fixed in a stationary manner to a housing by means of the first axis of rotation (60), while the control lever (7) is articulated via the control element (11) with the housing and the fourth axis of rotation (70) moves relative to the housing during an opening or a closing movement, characterized in that an instantaneous center of rotation (M) of the flap (3) is arranged in a closed position below the handle element (40) and in a maximally open position above the handle element (40), where the instantaneous center of rotation (M) in the case of a plane motion of a rigid body is the point in space around which the body can be considered to be exclusively rotating at the moment, wherein in the case of the plane motion of the rigid body with a translatory motion and a rotational motion, there are combined into a pure rotational movement around the instantaneous center of rotation..
2. The item of furniture according to Claim 1, characterized in that a path (B) of the instantaneous center of rotation (M) extends spaced apart from the handle element (40) during an opening movement of the flap (3).
3. The item of furniture according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in the closed position of the flap (3), the distance from the handle element (40) to the instantaneous center of rotation (M) is greater than the length of the supporting lever (6).
4. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance of the instantaneous center of rotation (M) from the handle element (40) over the entire path (B) of the instantaneous center of rotation (M) during an opening movement is at least 50%, preferably at least 70%, of the distance of the handle element (40) from the first axis of rotation (60).
5. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a path (B) of the instantaneous center of rotation (M) during an opening movement of the flap (3) firstly extends upward in a curve and sinks shortly before reaching the maximally open position.
6. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control element (11) is formed as a gear wheel.
7. The item of furniture according to Claim 6, characterized in that the gear wheel is engaged with a gear wheel (10), which is arranged in a rotationally-fixed manner with the supporting lever (6) around the first axis of rotation (60).
8. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a force accumulator (20) is provided, which pre-tensions the flap (3) in a closed position in the closed setting and/or pre-tensions the flap (3) in an opening range in the opening direction.
9. The item of furniture according to Claim 7 and 8, characterized in that the force accumulator (20) is coupled via a rotatably mounted control disk (15) to a third gear wheel (13), which is drivable by pivoting the flap (3), whereby the third gear wheel (13) can be driven by a rotation of the gear wheel (10), that the control disk (15) and that a curve guide (16) can be moved by a rotation of the control disk (15), which curve guide (16) enables springs (21) of the force accumulator (20) to be pulled together during an opening movement after a dead center has been passed, so that the force accumulator (20) supports the opening movement.
10. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one damper (30) is provided, by means of which an opening and/or closing movement of the flap (3) can be decelerated before reaching an end position.
11. The item of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle element (40) of the flap (3) faces downward in the direction of the operator in the open state of the flap (3).

Images