Brakes – Operators – Spring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-05
2002-01-22
Rodriguez, Pam (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Operators
Spring
C312S333000, C312S334330, C312S334440
Reexamination Certificate
active
06340078
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention involves a braking device with a closing servo control for movable cabinet/furniture parts such as drawers, doors, lifters, tabs and suchlike. The AT 399 809 B makes a braking device for drawers, which is known, that has a braking glide attached to the cabinet/furniture body. Two longitudinally movable brake grips in or on the braking glide are activated by a stop on the drawer, and so the braking grips are moved against it by the action of the spring. The spring counters a somewhat U-shaped braking grip carrier with pressure, so that, simultaneously, the braking grips are pressed by the respective slanted surfaces on the side of the braking glide. The drawer movement will brake by means of the force of the spring and, additionally, the force of the brake. The spring is designed as a pressure spring, which is tightened in the drawer's closed position—strongly taut against the closed position. The closing force to place the drawer back in a defined end (closed) position is not available or possible. With the self-locking braking action of the braking device, the drawer stays, after it is pushed, in a position before it completely closes. With the non self-locking braking action, the taut spring pushes the drawer back in an uncontrolled open position again. This known braking device is suitable for braking a drawer, but however, does have the disadvantage that after the drawer brakes, it stays in an arbitrary position and must be manually closed all the way. The braking force, before the closed position has been attained, is relatively large due to the braking friction and the spring's force and must be overridden manually in order for the drawer to be shut completely. When the drawer is opened again, the braking force must be overcome until the spring's pressure is released. So the braking device counteracts the closing movement.
Pull-in devices for drawers and closing devices are known. The EP 0 391 221 makes known a pull-in device for drawers, which pulls a drawer in over a longer distance. A spring-loaded tilting element located on the cabinet body side and a drawer-side fastened driving pin, acting as a feed release (trigger) pulls the drawer to a closed position. A braking device is not available. The AT 291 038 shows a cabinet/furniture door hinge, which is designed as a two-armed swinging hinge. In order to close, one of the swinging arms is designed with a radial cam on which a spring-loaded roller unrolls and generates closing pressure. Here, too, the closing motion is unrestricted so that too strong a closing motion is not intercepted and the cabinet/furniture door slams uncontrolled.
The disadvantage of the known pull-in or closing devices is the lack of braking during the closing of cabinet/furniture components. When drawers are pushed or cabinet/furniture doors are shut hard into cabinets or furniture, they reach the first position uncontrolled, causing slamming noises and then partially open again. Rubber buffers or suchlike are frequently placed at the end stop, but don't satisfactorily reduce kinetic energy and lead to undesirably high force which can damage both the cabinets/furniture and hardware fittings. A rebounding of movable cabinet/furniture components during forceful closings can certainly not be prevented with the use of rubber buffers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to design a braking device with a closing servo control for movable cabinet/furniture components which effects a certain deceleration over a longer braking path and finally brings the movable cabinet/furniture component to the end (closed) position and holds it there.
Another task is to attain an almost brake-free opening operation.
An additional task is to design a braking device that has a compact, cost-efficient and easy-to-assemble closing servo control that meet current demands.
Another task is to design a braking device with a closing servo controller that brakes the movable cabinet/furniture components softly and gently, and closes without any transition and without any adjustments being made.
This task is solved by the characteristics of an embodiment of the present invention.
The basis of the invention is that in the casing between the energy store and the control element, there is a connected braking element that is guided and movable.
The advantage of the invention consists of this: the energy of the movable cabinet/furniture component's mass is evenly reduced on a certain distance path and, consequently, the cabinet/furniture component is braked. The necessary deceleration force works evenly over the entire braking distance. This essentially depends on the closing speed and the mass moved. With lower mass forces, the cabinet/furniture component is on the shorter distance and will brake more quickly. With increased mass forces, the braking distance and braking time is correspondingly longer. However it adjusts automatically and adapts to the introduced outer energy resulting in a soft and gentle braking of the furniture component as long as the thrust is effective. If the braking thrust decreases towards the end, the brake releases. In this moment, the closing servo control kicks in and brings the movable cabinet/furniture component to the end position (closed) position. The closing process occurs independently from the cabinet/furniture component's position after the braking; that is, the closing servo control operates independently from the mass forces, Therefore, no adjustments, settings or tuning procedures are necessary.
Another advantage is the oil-free and pneumatic-free system. The system works as a pure friction-brake and contains no electrical operating control and setting elements. Another advantage is the brake-free opening process. As described above, the braking action releases with the drawers—that is—when beginning the closing force. The braking device only operates following a closing push. When opening, only a minimal force of the closing spring is to be overcome and prestresses it. This energy storage is known and necessary in order to make the pull-in movement possible. The stored energy in the spring is used here, however, to additionally release the braking effects.
Another essential advantage emerges from the compact design. The braking device and closing servo control are accommodated in a casing and form one unit. An actuating pin, catch or driver is provided only on one of the cabinet/furniture components in a known manner to release the device. The braking device with the closing servo control is preferably designed as a plug-in and can be attached to the fixed, but also the movable cabinet/furniture component. The actuating pin is therefore located on various other cabinet/furniture components. An actuating lever or lever system can be provided on doors.
Friction brakes, moreover, dampen the vibrations of the roller glides and provide a quiet glide.
Advantageous designs and further developments are the objects of the subordinate patent claims.
So, for example, the control element is preferably designated as a snap-in element with a driving pin so that the snap-in element has a snap-in nose, which is hanged, tightened, in the front-end side of the casing.
The braking element operates as a pure friction-brake and includes at least one braking grip, which lies on the casing's inner wall. The braking element is movable, guided in a corresponding guide track within the casing.
The braking element is hinged with the snap-in element and the energy store; the energy store, preferably, has an inserted tension spring.
In a preferred embodiment, the snap-in element has a coupling peg, which is held in a corresponding groove of the braking grip. Moreover, two arrow-shaped slanted surfaces lie on the corresponding slanted surfaces of the brake grip and when force is exerted on the slanted surfaces' snap-in element, they (two arrow-shaped slanted surfaces) slide off together and result in an expansion of this braking grip's component.
According to the f
Grass GmbH
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Rodriguez Pam
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