ES3053073T3 - Lift-up door movement device - Google Patents

Abstract

A device (100) for moving a lift-up door (6) of a kitchen, bathroom, or living room cabinet, or any cabinet in general, comprising a container (10) that can be fixed to the cabinet frame, particularly to one side (4), and containing a mechanism that acts, by means of an arm (20) internally articulated to the container (10) with a support pin (13), directly or indirectly on the door (6). Said support pin (13) is integral with a cam (14) capable of engaging with an element (35) of a slide (30) slidably housed in the container (10), under the action of at least one spring (40) acting between said container (10) and said slide (30), such that it exerts a force in the opposite direction to said element (35). Said cam (14) and the action of said at least one spring (40) balance the weight of the door in each position during opening and closing. Inside the container (10) is an arched seat (19), arranged around a seat (24) for housing the fulcrum pin (13), concentrically to the pin's axis (r). An arched plate (50) is housed in this seat, replicating the pin's curved profile. This arched plate (50) is driven by the cam (14) along the profile of the arched seat (19) during the final rotation phase of the arm (20) as the door closes, compressing a damper (52) and thus cushioning the door. (Automatic translation using Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Lifting door movement device

[0003] The present invention relates to a device for moving a liftable door of a piece of furniture for the kitchen, bathroom, living room or any piece of furniture in general.

[0004] In the present context, a lifting door movement device is understood to be any of the following examples:

[0005] - flap opening upwards: the door is hinged to the top of the furniture, as shown in the attached figure 1a;

[0006] - vertical opening: the door moves vertically, as shown in figure 1b;

[0007] - pivoting opening: the door rotates and translates vertically, as shown in figure 1c;

[0008] - Package opening: A pair of doors rotate and move together vertically, as shown in Figure 1d. Several devices are known for moving furniture doors of the different types mentioned above. These devices are capable of balancing the weight in each position the door assumes during opening as a result of the user's action, without the door returning to its fully open (or closed) position when this action is interrupted.

[0009] Examples of such devices are disclosed in documents EP 1507944B1, EP 2821578B1, and DE 202005020862U1. In addition to the undeniable ergonomic advantages of not requiring the user to close the door from its fully open position, these devices also offer the characteristic of perfectly balancing the weight of the door in every position. Therefore, the weight perceived by the user is practically zero, thus providing a feeling of lightness and ease of use.

[0010] Mechanisms that meet this requirement have the drawback of being large overall dimensions within the storage compartment, thus occupying space that could be used efficiently. This is primarily due to the need to guide and retain within their housings the elastic elements responsible for generating the energy to balance the door's weight.

[0011] In the prior art, these devices, in addition to having specific housings to contain the elastic elements, have other containers designed to hold the device components and, therefore, the housings themselves. Given the need to contain the device, the ideal condition is certainly that the device housing also serves as a guide and container for the elastic elements responsible for lifting the door.

[0012] Furniture design is constantly evolving, and the trend is increasingly towards concealing the mechanics necessary for door movement, and clearly a device that can be hidden inside the side, totally or partially, responds to this need.

[0013] The object of the present invention is to provide a liftable door movement device that eliminates the disadvantages of previously disclosed prior art mechanisms.

[0014] More particularly, an object of the invention is to propose such a device having a reduced overall thickness dimension so as to occupy minimal space inside the furniture, and thus be almost hidden inside the side.

[0015] Another object of the invention is to provide a device in such a way as to ensure the balance of the weight of the door in each position, both when opening and closing, and to prevent a sudden jolt during opening and provide a cushioning effect during closing.

[0016] Another object of the invention is to provide such a device that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and easy to assemble and put together.

[0017] Another object of the invention is to provide a liftable door movement device that can be used on all of the above-mentioned door types: flap-up opening, vertical opening, pivoting opening, package opening.

[0018] These and other objects of the invention are achieved with the features of appended independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed by means of the dependent claims.

[0019] Substantially, the device for the liftable opening of a cabinet door according to the invention comprises a container that can be fixed to the cabinet frame, in particular to one side thereof, which contains a mechanism that acts, by means of an arm, internally articulated to the container with a fulcrum pin, directly or indirectly on the door,

[0020] wherein said fulcrum pin is integral with a cam capable of engaging with an element of a slide housed slidably in the container, under the action of at least one spring acting between said container and said slide in such a way as to exert a force in the opposite direction to said element, the cam and the action of said at least one spring balancing the weight of the door in each position during opening and closing, characterized in that inside the container there is an arched seat, arranged around a seat to house said fulcrum pin, concentrically to the axis of the pin, in which an arched plate, reproducing the curved profile thereof, is housed, said arched plate being driven by said cam along the profile of the arched seat during the final phase of rotation of the arm, when closing the door, which will compress a damper, producing the damping of the door.

[0021] Other features of the invention will be clarified by the following detailed description, which refers to one embodiment thereof only by way of non-limiting example, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1a-1d schematically illustrate various types of lift-up doors to which the movement device according to the invention may be applied;

[0022] Figure 2 is a partial axonometric view, with disassembled parts and parts shown in transparency, of a piece of furniture with a package-opening door, provided with a device according to the invention shown in an intermediate door-opening condition;

[0023] Figure 3 is a side profile view of the furniture in Figure 2;

[0024] Figure 4 is a plan view of the device mechanism container according to the invention, without cover, with the door movement arm in an intermediate position during the opening or closing phase;

[0025] Figure 5 is an enlarged axonometric view showing the components of the device mechanism according to the invention;

[0026] Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the slide shown in Figure 5;

[0027] Figures 6a, 6b and 6c are, respectively, a top view, a front view and a left-side view of the mounted slide of Figure 6;

[0028] Figure 7 is an enlarged axonometric view of the articulated arm rotation shown in Figure 5;

[0029] Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are, respectively, a top view, a front view and a left-side view of the pivot in Figure 7;

[0030] Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 are plan views like that of Figure 4, without the articulated arm, showing the position of the different elements, in successive stages, from the condition of a fully open door, to the condition of a fully closed door.

[0031] In figures 2 and 3, simply as an example, the device according to the invention is applied to a piece of furniture with a folding lift-up door, of the type shown in figure 1d, it being understood that it can be used, without substantial modifications, for the movement of doors with a different lifting mode, as shown, for example, in figures 1a-1c.

[0032] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, they illustrate a piece of furniture, generally designated by reference number 1, comprising a fixed frame consisting of a lower wall or shelf 2, an upper wall or shelf 3, two side walls or sides 4, one of which is removed to show the device according to the invention, indicated by reference number 100, and an optional rear wall 5. The furniture 1 has a front door 6, which in the present case is divided into two half-doors, an upper one 6a and a lower one 6b. The upper half-door 6a is hinged to the upper shelf 3 of the furniture, and the two half-doors are hinged to each other by means of a lever system 7, the assembly being substantially known in itself and therefore not described further.

[0033] The device 100 according to the invention, illustrated in more detail in Figures 4 to 11, serves to balance the weight of the door 6 in any position during the opening and closing movement, and comprises a box container 10 containing a mechanism that acts on the door by means of an arm 20, articulated to the lever system 7 or directly to the door.

[0034] The container 10 is attached to the frame of the furniture 1, in this case to a side wall or side 4, and comprises two suitably shaped, substantially identical half-shells, which, for convenience of use only, shall be called base 10' and cover 10", between which the various components of the mechanism are housed, and on which the arm 20 pivots.

[0035] More specifically, with reference to Figure 4, the arm 20 is integrated into a pin 13, mounted between the half-shells so that it can rotate freely with respect to them. The pin 13 has a suitably shaped cam 14 integrated into it, capable of receiving the force necessary to support the door, as will be described in more detail later here. With reference to the enlarged view of Figure 5, a rectangular frame-shaped slide 30 is arranged between the two half-shells 10', 10", which has a large window 31, bounded by two longer horizontal sides (with reference to the arrangement in Figure 4) 32, which slide into the corresponding longitudinal guides 15 of the container 10, and by two shorter vertical sides 33, 34, arranged respectively at the rear and front of the container 10, when viewed from the front of the cabinet.

[0036] On the front 34 of the slide 30 is mounted a roller 35 with which the cam profile 14 integrated into the pin 13 interacts, as will be described in further detail later.

[0037] A pair of springs 40 are arranged in the window 31 of the slide 30, which are housed in the respective seats 16 formed inside the two half-shells 10', 10".

[0038] The springs 40 act on one side against the strikers 17 provided in the half-shells, at the front end of the seats 16, where a spring preload adjustment assembly is provided, and on the other side against the rear side 33 of the slide 30, by means of strikers 41.

[0039] The spring preload adjustment assembly comprises, for each spring, a screw 42 acting on a sliding element 43 screwed to it. The screw 42 is axially fixed between the two housing halves and has a toothed head 44 such that it can be adjusted with a common Phillips screwdriver orthogonally to its axis of rotation. Rotation of the screw 42 causes a translation of the sliding element 43, thereby adjusting the preload of the corresponding spring 40.

[0040] The springs 40 act between the fixed firing pins 17 and the firing pins 41 made an integral part of the slide 30 which, as mentioned, moves along the longitudinal guides 15 in one direction and then the other, causing the compression/extension of the springs 40.

[0041] During the rotation of arm 20, the cam 14 of pin 13 slides along the roller 35, imparting to arm 20, by means of the sliding of the slider 30 along the guides 15, caused by the action of the springs 40, a variable torque depending on the position of the cam 14.

[0042] The cam profile 14 is designed to provide perfect door balance in all positions along the opening arc, so that if the user interrupts the action, the door rebalances and does not continue its travel to full opening. The same occurs during the closing phase.

[0043] Inside the 10', 10" half-shells there are opposing arched seats 19 (only one visible in figure 5, and partially in figure 6), arranged around the pin 13 seats 24, concentrically to the pin axis (r), in which respective arched plates 50 are housed that reproduce its curved profile.

[0044] The plates 50 alternately close the slide 30 and are driven by the cam 14 along the profile of the curved seats 19 during the rotation of the arm 20.

[0045] During the final phase of closing the door, the plates 50 will compress a damper 52 housed between opposing seats 53 of the halves 10', 10" and in a lower or upper recess 54 of the slide 30, by means of a stop element 55, sliding parallel to the longitudinal axis (s) of the device, and acting on the stem 56, producing the damping of the door.

[0046] With reference to Figures 6, 6a-6c, the particular embodiment of the slider 30 is described in more detail. It is formed by two identical plates 30', 30", substantially symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis (s), provided with: recesses 54', 54", said recess 54 forming part of the slider 30 capable of housing the damper 52; separation protrusions 57', 57";

[0047] holes 58', 58" capable of accommodating a pin 37 that supports the roller 35; and

[0048] facing planes 38', 38", so that, when the two plates 30', 30" are coupled to butt against these planes, the roller 35 is free to rotate around the pin 37 parallel to the axis (r).

[0049] With reference to figures 7, 7a-7c, the particular embodiment of pin 13 and the cam 14 integrated therein is described.

[0050] The pin 13 consists of two portions: a portion 13' suitable for integrally engaging the articulated arm 20, illustrated herein as an example in a square shape, and a cylindrical portion 13", integral with the cam 14, suitable for housing in the halves 10' and 10" so that it is free to rotate about the axis (r).

[0051] The cam 14 has a curved profile 11 that slides against the roller 35 and, having different distances to the axis (r), allows the springs 40 to assume predetermined lengths and thus transmit the correct torque to the arm 20 to support the weight of the door in the different positions it assumes during the opening/closing movement.

[0052] The cam wall 14 has a through hole 12 which widens on each of its faces with a respective eccentric recessed seat 12', in which a respective cylindrical pin 60 is housed, the axis of which is eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation (e) of a cylindrical shaft 61 forcibly inserted into the hole 12, so that it does not rotate freely, but only as a result of a torque impressed with a tool which meshes, for example, with a cross-shaped seat 62 provided in the pin 60.

[0053] The cylindrical shaft 61, carried by one of the two pins 60, has an axial hole of polygonal section 63 that meshes with a small shaft 63' having the same section, carried by the other pin 60.

[0054] The cylindrical pins 60 engage with the plates 50 during part of the door closing movement, thereby activating the action of the damper 52, by means of the stop element 55. The eccentricity of the cylindrical pins 60 with respect to the axis of rotation (e) allows their impact with the plates 50 to be anticipated or delayed, thus anticipating or delaying the action of the damper 52.

[0055] With reference to Figures 8 to 11, the operating principle of the device according to the invention is now illustrated during the closing movement of a door.

[0056] Figure 8 shows the device in the fully open position. The cam 14 interacts with the roller 35 in such a way that the elastic elements 40 are at their maximum extension.

[0057] Turning to Figure 9, a generic intermediate closing position is illustrated, after a counterclockwise rotation of arm 20, in which the cam 14 occupies a different position that determines a different position of the slide 30 and a different extension of the elastic elements 40 (which begin to compress), an extension suitable for balancing the weight of the door in that specific position.

[0058] Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the closing phases at the extreme end when the damper 52 intervenes, and more specifically figure 10 shows the cam 14 that puts the eccentric pin 60 in contact with the corresponding plate 50, which, by means of the stop element 55, acts on the rod 56 of the damper 52.

[0059] The damping phase begins and damper 52 is fully extended.

[0060] In the following figure 11, the closure has been completed and the damper 52 is fully compressed by the stop element 55.

[0061] It should be noted that in these illustrations the eccentric pin 60 is shown in its position of maximum anticipation of the action of the damper 52. By acting on the eccentric it is possible to delay its action and thus compress the damper itself less.

[0062] The opening of the door, starting from the condition of figure 11, causes a rotation of arm 20 in the clockwise direction, with a trajectory of the cam 14 opposite to the previous one, until it goes to the configuration of figure 8.

[0063] The device according to the invention, with the housing 10', 10" of the container 10, and the slide plates 30', 30" of the slide 30, has a shape such that it can be mounted independently on the left or right side of a piece of furniture, simply by rotating it 180° around its longitudinal axis and displacing the position of some components, such as the damper 52 and the elements that actuate it. The only component that must have a different configuration and therefore must be replaced is the pin 13 with the cam 14.

[0064] From what has been disclosed, the advantages of the device of the invention appear clear. Its components, instead of being arranged in a box and then placed in an external container, as is the case in the prior art, are placed directly into the container, which, when properly shaped, acts as a guide and receptacle for the elastic elements used to lift the door. In this way, the overall dimensions of the device are considerably reduced, allowing it to be concealed in the side of the cabinet.

[0065] In the above, it has been described that the container (10) is made in two half-shells, although theoretically it could be made as a single shell.

[0066] Naturally, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but numerous detailed changes can be made to it within the scope of the person skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1. Device (100) for moving a lift-up door (6) of a kitchen, bathroom or living room cabinet, or any cabinet in general, comprising a container (10) that can be fixed to the cabinet frame, in particular to one side thereof (4), containing a mechanism that acts, by means of an arm (20), internally articulated to the container (10) with a fulcrum pin (13), directly or indirectly on the door (6), wherein said fulcrum pin (13) is integral with a cam (14) capable of engaging with an element (35) of a slide (30) slidably housed in the receptacle (10), under the action of at least one spring (40) acting between said receptacle (10) and said slide (30), such that it exerts a force in the opposite direction to said element (35), balancing said cam (14) and the action of said at least one spring (40) the weight of the door in each position during opening and closing, characterized in that inside the container (10) there is an arched seat (19), arranged around a seat (24) to accommodate said fulcrum pin (13), concentrically to the axis (r) of the pin, in which an arched plate (50), which reproduces the curved profile thereof, is housed, said arched plate (50) being driven by said cam (14) along the profile of the arched seat (19) during the final phase of rotation of the arm (20), when closing the door, which will compress a damper (52), producing the damping of the door. 2. Device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that said shock absorber (52) is housed in a seat (53) of the container (10) and in a lower recess (54) of the slide (30). 3. Device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cam (14) carries an eccentric pin (60) that engages with said arched plate (50) during the final phase of rotation of the arm (20), the regulation of which allows anticipating or delaying its impact with the arched plate (50), anticipating or delaying the action of the shock absorber (52). 4. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said arched plate (50) actuates the shock absorber (52) by means of a stop element (55) acting on its stem (56). 5. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slide (30) is in the form of a rectangular frame, which has a large window (31), delimited by two horizontal sides (32), housed slidably in the corresponding longitudinal guides (15) of the container (10), and by two vertical sides (33, 34), one of which (34) carries said element (35) against which the cam (14) acts. 6. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said element (35) against which said cam (14) acts is a roller. 7. Device (100) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said at least one spring (40) is placed in said window (31) of the slide (30), is housed in a seat (16) formed internally to the container (10), and acts, on one side against the other vertical side (33) of the slide (30) by means of a corresponding striker (41) and on the other side against a striker (17) of the container (10), wherein an assembly (42, 43) is provided for regulating the spring preload. 8. Device (100) according to claim 7, characterized in that said assembly for regulating the spring preload comprises a screw (42) acting on a sliding element (43) screwed therein, the screw (42) being axially fixed with respect to the container (10) and having a toothed head (44) that can be adjusted with a tool orthogonal to its axis of rotation. 9. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slide (30) is formed by two identical plates (30', 30"), substantially symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis (s). 10. Device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said container (10) is made of two substantially identical half-shells (10', 10").