IT202100031352A1 - Opening system for a hinged door - Google Patents

Description

?Opening system for a?swing door?

DESCRIPTION

Technical Sector of Invention

The present invention refers to an opening system for a swing door.

In particular, the present invention refers to an opening system for a hinged door of a piece of furniture or similar furnishing element.

Known Art

In the furniture sector, furniture equipped with one or more? hinged doors.

Generally speaking, a hinged door? consisting of a substantially flat panel which is connected along one of its sides to the body of the furniture by means of one or more? hinges. The door can what? rotate around said one or more? hinges between a closed position ? in which it covers the space inside the body of the furniture or part of it? and an open position? in which it leaves free access to the space inside the body of the furniture or part of it.

In general, to allow the user to move the hinged door from the closed position to the open position, the face of the door facing the outside of the furniture is equipped with a handle that can be contested by the user.

However, there are situations in which such a handle constitutes an unwanted element, either for aesthetic reasons or for functional reasons.

Think for example of the case of a glass door, in which it is necessary to plan to drill the glass to connect the handle to the door, with the consequent risk of the formation of cracks and cracks in the glass itself, and in which the means of connection of the handle to the door are at least partly visible, with consequent deterioration of the general aesthetic impression.

More? in general, the presence of handles on swing doors presents complications in any case: if the handle is integral with the door, its presence takes up space which makes transport and storage of the doors less easy; what if the handle? separated from the door and connectable to it, the need? to provide means of connection between the handle itself and the door introduces a degree of complexity? additional during the production phase, as well as leading to an increase in the overall number of components. There are solutions in which the door handle is made in the form of a recess or groove along one of the free sides (i.e. not hinged to the body of the furniture) of the door itself. This solution allows you to avoid the need? to provide means of connection between the door and the handle.

Furthermore, in this case the door maintains a substantially flat structure, which makes it more easy transport and storage.

However, this solution is also not free of inconveniences.

In fact, the groove requires its own technical space which does not allow the same distance between the panels that make up the face of the door facing outwards or in any case makes it necessary to space the panels as much as necessary for the entry of the hand for the grip, which negatively affects the overall aesthetic appearance of the door itself.

Furthermore, to open the door, the user will have to come into contact, at least marginally, with the face of the door facing the outside of the furniture. Are there situations in which such contact is? unwanted, for example in the case of doors made or covered with materials that can easily get dirty or damaged, or in the case in which the user has busy or dirty hands.

To avoid accidental contact with the face of the door facing the outside of the furniture, the user should act with great caution and attention every time he has to open the furniture door, which is evidently considered an inconvenience by most users.

A similar problem arises in the case of hinged doors equipped with a so-called "push - pull" opening system.

The ?push pull? systems are based on the presence of a telescopic mechanism which, in response to a pressure exerted by the user on the door, go from a retracted configuration to an extracted configuration, and so? by doing so they push the door slightly outwards compared to the body of the furniture; once the door is distanced from the body of the furniture, the user? even in the absence of a handle? can? grab it to complete the rotation until it is fully open.

Even in this, however, ? It is clear that the user must come into contact with the face of the door facing towards the outside of the furniture, more? precisely it must exert pressure on it.

The "push pull" systems, however, involve a further inconvenience, as even during the closing phase the door must be accompanied to the closed position and a certain pressure must be exerted again on the face of the door facing towards the outside of the movable to return the telescopic mechanism to the initial retracted position.

On the other hand, in swing doors equipped with a handle, the closing of the swing door can? be carried out by simply pushing the door with sufficient force towards the closing position, without necessarily having to grip the handle.

About this, ? note the possibility? to mount the hinged door on the body of the furniture using cushioned hinges, so that in the last phase of the closing movement the speed of the door is reduced and violent impacts of the door against the body of the furniture are avoided.

The use of these cushioned hinges? incompatible with "push pull" mechanisms, since, as highlighted above, it is It is necessary to exert some pressure on the door to complete closing.

In any case, whether the hinged door is equipped with a handle or whether it is equipped with a "push pull" opening system, contact with the face of the door facing the outside of the furniture? essentially inevitable.

As highlighted above, this contact can? be unwanted, in situations in which the user has busy or dirty hands, or in the case in which the door is made or covered with a precious and delicate material.

Main purpose of the present invention? therefore that of providing an opening system for a hinged door which allows the opening of said door without any contact with the door itself and in particular with the face facing the outside of the furniture of said door.

Another purpose of the present invention? that of providing an opening system for a hinged door that does not interfere with the closing of the door and allows a smooth and gradual closing.

These and other purposes are achieved by the swing door opening system as claimed in the attached claims.

Synthetic Exposition of the Invention

The invention concerns an opening system for swing doors as claimed in claim 1.

This opening system essentially includes:

- a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a user in proximity? of the hinged door;

- an actuator capable of passing from a rest or neutral position, in which it does not interact with the swing door, to a pushing or active position, in which it exerts a thrust on said swing door to cause it to open, at least partial; - a?unit? control device which receives information from said sensor and commands the activation of said actuator on the basis of the information received from said sensor to move from said neutral position to said active position.

The unit? control device also commands the activation of said actuator to move from said active position to said neutral position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the unit? control ? equipped with a timer and the unit? control commands the return of the actuator to the neutral position once ? a predetermined time interval has elapsed from the passage of said actuator from the neutral position to the active position.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the unit? control commands the return of the actuator to the neutral position in response to further information from the sensor.

In a preferred form of the invention, the actuator exerts a mechanical thrust on the swing door.

However, this embodiment must not be understood in a restrictive sense and the actuator could also have a different operating principle. For example, it could be configured so as to exert a magnetic push on the swing door. The sensor can be any sensor capable of detecting the presence of a user, such as a proximity sensor, a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, etc.

The sensor could also be a sensor capable of detecting a signal sent by a user who is in proximity? of the swing door using a remote control, a smartphone, etc.

The opening system described above can? be provided with connections to an electrical power supply network, or it can? be equipped with an autonomous power system, such as a battery.

The components of the opening system described above are preferably housed in a seat provided in the frame of the body of the element (for example of the piece of furniture) on which they are located. once the hinged door is mounted, like this? so as not to be substantially visible from the outside and not to cause any deterioration in aesthetics and functionality. of that element.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more evident. evident from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows in the form of a block diagram the main components of the opening system according to the invention, illustrated in neutral position (door closed);

Figure 2 shows the main components of Figura's opening system in the form of a block diagram, illustrated in the active position (partially open door).

Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention Below will be done reference for convenience? to a hinged door mounted on a piece of furniture. However, this reference should not be understood in a restrictive sense.

In Figure 1, ? illustrated is a piece of furniture 100 equipped with a body or structure 102. The body 102 of the piece of furniture 100 includes an opening 104 through which a user can access the space defined within said body 102.

The cabinet 100 also includes a door 200 which has a substantially flat body and which along one of its sides is connected to the body 102 of the cabinet 100 at the opening 104 by means of one or more hinges 300.

Thanks to the fact that the 200 door is hinged to the body 102 of the furniture 100, it can? carry out a rotation movement around the hinge(s) 300 to move from a closed position (illustrated in Figure 1) in which it covers the opening 104 of the furniture 100, to an open position in which it leaves free access to the internal space of the body 102 of cabinet 100, and vice versa.

This open position can correspond, for example, to a rotation of the door 200 around the hinge(s) 300 by approximately 90? compared to the closed position.

As visible in Figure 1, the face 200a of the door 200 facing the outside of the furniture body (hereinafter for brevity? "external face 200a")? without handle.

In order to allow the opening of the door 200, the cabinet 100 is provided with an opening system 1 according to the invention.

The opening system 1 includes first of all a sensor 3 capable of detecting the presence of a user near the door 200.

Can sensor 3? be, for example, a proximity sensor? or a motion sensor. Alternatively, ? It is possible to think of using a temperature sensor, sensitive to the temperature of the human body, as sensor 3.

Still, ? Is it possible to envisage that the sensor 3 is made in the form of a unit? receiver capable of receiving a signal emitted by a remote control or a similar device (for example a smartphone) operated by the user.

Preferably, sensor 3 ? arranged in the body 102 of the cabinet 100 the most? close as possible to the opening 104 and therefore to the outside of the cabinet itself, so to optimize its sensitivity? with respect to the possible presence of a user in front of the door 200.

The opening system 1 then includes a?unit? control 5 capable of receiving and processing the data detected by the sensor 3.

Based on the data coming from said sensor, the unit? control 5 commands the activation of an actuator 7 of the opening system 1.

The actuator 7 ? configured so as to pass from a rest position or neutral position, in which it does not interact with the door 200, to a push position or active position, in which it exerts a push on the door 200, in particular on the face 200b of the door. door 200 facing towards the inside of the furniture body (hereinafter for brevity? "internal face 200b"), to cause a partial opening.

In the illustrated embodiment, the actuator 7 is configured so as to exert a mechanical thrust on the internal face 200b of the door 200.

It ? made, for example, in the form of a telescopic plunger that can? move from a retracted position to an extracted position, or in the form of a threaded shaft which thanks to a screw system? lead screw can? advance linearly.

However, ? It is also possible to envisage the use of actuators based on different operating principles.

For example, it would be possible to envisage introducing a ferromagnetic element into the door 200 and creating the actuator 7 in the form of an electromagnet. In this case, by energizing the electromagnet it would be possible to generate a magnetic repulsion thrust capable of causing the movement of the door 200.

Therefore, when the sensor 3 detects the presence of a user near the door 200, the unit? control 5 ? received this information? commands the activation of actuator 7 so that? you move from the neutral position in Figure 1 to the active position illustrated in Figure 2.

The actuator 7 then exerts a thrust on the internal face 200b of the door 200, which rotates around the hinge 300 and moves to a partially open position.

The actuator 7 is not configured to obtain the complete opening of the door 200. On the contrary, the purpose of the opening system 1 is that of causing a partial opening of the door 200, which allows the user to complete the opening manually without however coming into contact with the external face 200a of the door 200.

For example, consider the case in which the user has dirty or wet hands. The opening system 1 allows the door 200 to be brought into the partially open configuration illustrated in Figure 2 without the user having to touch said door. At this point, the user can, for example, insert an elbow between the door 200 and the body 102 of the cabinet 100 and complete the opening of the door 200 in order to access the space inside the cabinet 100 and take a cloth or towel.

In any case, it will be? evident to the person skilled in the art that it is It is advantageous to arrange the opening system 1 in such a way that the actuator 7 acts on a point on the internal face 200b of the door 200 that is the most as far as possible from the hinge point of the door to the body of the furniture, so? to maximize the rotation torque arm.

Advantageously, the unit? control 5 ? also configured to control the activation of actuator 7 to return from the active position (Figure 2) to the neutral position (Figure 1).

? in fact it is clear that if the actuator 7 remained in the active position, it would interfere with the correct closing of the door 200.

On the other hand, once the actuator 7 has finished its pushing action on the leaf 200, the unit? control 5 commands the return to the initial configuration.

In the illustrated embodiment, for this purpose the unit? control 5 ? equipped with a 9 timer and the unit? control 5 commands the return of the actuator 7 to the neutral position once ? a predetermined time interval has elapsed from the passage of said actuator 7 from the neutral position to the active position.

? It is clear that this pre-established time interval is advantageously the most? as short as possible, so that ? as soon as the door 200? been opened? the risk that the actuator 7 interferes with its closing? promptly avoided.

Alternative embodiments are also possible in which the unit? control commands the return of actuator 7 to the neutral position based on other conditions.

For example, if sensor 3 ? a motion sensor, ? It is possible to foresee that a first movement of the user involves the activation of the actuator to move from the neutral position to the active position, and a second movement of the user involves the activation of the actuator to move from the active position to the neutral position.

Furthermore, in the event that the user uses a remote control, ? It is possible to provide two different buttons for switching the actuator from the neutral position to the active position, or from the active position to the neutral position.

Once the actuator 7 ? brought back to the neutral position, the door 200 can? be closed without hindrance.

In this regard, it should be noted that the opening system 1 according to the invention (unlike, for example, "push pull" opening systems) is perfectly compatible with the use of cushioned hinges.

Therefore, by engaging 300 amortized hinges it will be? It is possible to obtain a smooth and gradual closing of the door 200, at least in the last closing phase.

Advantageously, as illustrated in the Figures, the components of the opening system 1 are housed in a seat obtained in the body 102 of the furniture 100, for example inside a shelf 106.

In this way, said opening system does not clutter the space inside the cabinet 100, nor? deteriorates its aesthetic appearance.

As regards the electrical power supply necessary for the operation of the various components of the opening system 1,? It is possible to envisage connecting said system to an external power supply network, for example via a wire connection 11, as shown in the Figures.

Alternatively, it would also be possible to think of equipping the opening system 1 with a battery or similar independent power supply element.

Sar? It is evident to a person skilled in the art that the above description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is has been given solely as an example and numerous variations and modifications can be imagined, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the joint claims.

Claims (10)

1. Opening system (1) for swing door comprising: - a sensor (3) designed to detect the presence of a user in proximity? of a hinged door (200); - an actuator (7) able to move from a neutral position, in which it does not interact with said hinged door, to an active position, in which it exerts a thrust on said hinged door (200) to cause it to open, at least partially ; - a?unit? control (5); in which said unit? control unit (5) receives information from said sensor (3) and commands the activation of said actuator (7) to move from said neutral position to said active position on the basis of said information, and in which said unit? control (5) also commands the activation of said actuator to move from said active position to said neutral position. 2. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said unit? control (5) ? equipped with a timer (9) and is suitable for controlling the activation of said actuator (7) to move from said active position to said neutral position once a predetermined time interval has elapsed from the passage of said actuator from said neutral position to said active position. 3. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said unit? control (5) ? suitable for controlling the activation of said actuator (7) to move from said active position to said neutral position in response to further information coming from said sensor (3). 4. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said actuator is? suitable for exerting a mechanical thrust on said swing door (200). 5. Opening system (1) according to claim 4, wherein said actuator is? made in the form of a telescopic plunger or screw mechanism? lead screw or rack mechanism. 6. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said actuator is? suitable for exerting a magnetic repulsion thrust on said swing door (200). 7. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is? selected from the group including proximity sensors, motion sensors, temperature sensors. 8. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is? designed to detect a signal coming from a remote control or similar device. 9. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said opening system is? equipped with connection means (11) to an external electrical power supply network. 10. Opening system (1) according to claim 1, wherein said opening system is? equipped with autonomous means of electrical power supply, such as a battery.