HK1056905B - A damping apparatus for moving furniture parts - Google Patents

Description

Damping device for moving furniture parts

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a damping device for moving furniture parts such as doors, flaps or drawers.

Background

Such damping devices are known in many different embodiments. DE 4409716 a1 shows an air damper which comprises a piston and a cylinder, and the piston inserted into the cylinder is braked by means of compressed air in the cylinder, the escape of air being largely prevented by the use of a seal through which the piston moves when inserted into the cylinder. DE 3729597 a1 likewise shows a damping device comprising a cylinder and a piston accommodated longitudinally movably therein. The plug is accommodated in a cylinder whose diameter varies in the longitudinal direction and is guided in a piston designed as a hollow piston. Upon insertion of the piston, the compressed air in the cylinder is expanded in accordance with the position of the piston by means of an annular gap between the plug and the bore of the piston.

The first damping device is also known from DE 20120112.7. There is disclosed an air damper having holes in a jacket wall of a cylinder body near a closed end, thereby achieving a good damping effect.

If the furniture parts are closed with a large force or at a large speed, the kinetic energy cannot be completely absorbed immediately by the above-mentioned dampers in contact with them, so that they may be rebounded before being brought into their final closed position by means of the closing device. From JP 0020279886AA a door damping element is known, which comprises an elastic damping part and an oil damper. The elastic damping member should have a function of attenuating the impact of the door. The remaining kinetic energy should be absorbed by the oil damper.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a compact damping device of the first type mentioned above, which makes it possible to avoid possible rebound movements of the furniture part.

This object is achieved with a damping device having the features of claim 1. According to the invention, the damping device has at least two damping sections, each of which has a cylinder with a piston which can be displaced longitudinally in the cylinder and which exerts a damping action of different strengths. In this way the braking effect can be divided into two sections, the braking effect of which is designed to be different, which exert braking effects of different strengths on actuation. For example, it can be implemented in such a way that the braking effect is achieved by means of two damping segments, wherein the first damping segment has a weaker spring and the second damping segment has a conventional air damper. In such an embodiment, the movement of the furniture part is initially reduced mainly by the spring force, while only partly the successively following damping segments are used. The remaining kinetic energy which has been reduced by the first section is then completely absorbed by the second damping section. A progressive braking effect is thus produced between these two sections, so that a rebound of the furniture part is avoided.

The damping device may comprise two damping segments. Of course, more than two damping segments may be used. The design of the damping device with a telescopic cylinder results in a particularly compact feature of the damping device.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the damping device has a multi-segment, preferably two-segment, telescopic cylinder, the first damping segment of which has a piston which is spring-loaded and accommodated in the telescopic cylinder, and the second damping segment of which is formed by an air damper. The design of damping devices with multi-segment telescopic cylinders is known, for example, from the above-mentioned DE 20120112.7 and DE 20117031.0. Such damping devices are characterized by a small length or installation depth, so that a particularly compact construction can be achieved.

There is an air gap between the piston and the cylinder of the first damping section so that the braking effect of the first damping section is substantially produced by the force of the spring acting on the piston.

In a further aspect of the invention, it is provided that the cylinder of the first damping section has a piston fixedly connected thereto and the piston has a peripheral seal accommodated in a groove, the piston sealingly contacting a wall of the cylinder of the successively following damping section in the insertion direction and contacting the groove wall in the direction of outward movement.

However, upon insertion movement, the air in the cylinder space is compressed, so that the desired damping effect of the air damper can be achieved, and upon outward movement, air can pass between the piston and the cylinder wall so that the piston can move freely and easily outward.

Preferably, the seal is received in a groove of the piston which communicates via a passage with the interior space of the cylinder of the successively following damping section. As the piston moves outwardly, air flows through the passage, thereby freely pulling the piston outwardly, as described above.

It is also possible to embody the piston of the first damping section and the piston of the second damping section both with a cut-out section, in which the end region of the spring of the first damping section is accommodated.

In a further aspect of the invention, it is also possible to implement that the cylinder of the first damping stage has an annular flange with which the cylinder is supported in the starting position at the collar front face of the cylinder of the second damping stage.

The cylinder of the first damping segment may have an annular collar at which the piston of the first damping segment is supported in the activated position.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the last damping stage, in a two-stage design the second damping stage is formed by an air damper, the cylinder of the last damping stage having a bore near the closed end in the jacket wall, the bore having a diameter much smaller than the diameter of the cylinder. DE 20120112.7, from which a damping device with identically arranged holes can be seen.

In a further aspect of the invention, it is possible to embody the piston of the first damping section with a plunger, the end region of which is provided with a magnet. The effect of this is that, when opening a moving furniture part, the damping device is moved again into its active position, and a new damping method is then used.

It is possible to implement such that a spring is provided in the last damping section, the spring being supported at the base of the cylinder of the last damping section and exerting a restoring force on the piston of the damping section. The spring guides the piston of the damping section back to its starting position.

The piston of the first damping section can have a plunger, the end region of which is provided with a damper.

Preferably, the first damping section exerts a lower damping effect than the second damping section. It is possible to design the second damping portion in such a way that its starting friction can be overcome during the starting of the first damping portion. Thereby achieving the smooth transition of the braking effect of the damping section and greatly avoiding the rebound of the furniture parts.

Drawings

Further details and advantages of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a damping device according to the present invention in an activated position;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views illustrating the damping device shown in FIG. 1 in a partially and fully inserted position;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a damping device according to the present invention shown in an activated position; and

fig. 5 to 9 show the individual components of the damping device shown in fig. 1 to 4.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a damping device according to the invention. The damping device comprises two damping sections, wherein the first damping section is provided with a cylinder body 30, and the cylinder body 30 is provided with a piston 32; the second damping section has a cylinder 20, the cylinder 20 having a piston 22.

A piston 32 is guided in a longitudinally movable manner in the cylinder 30 of the first damping section. The piston 32 has a plunger 34 integrated therewith, the end region of the plunger 34 being provided with a magnet 36.

The piston 22 of the second damping section is in the end region of the cylinder 30, said piston 22 being connected in a fixed manner to said cylinder 30. Such a connection is achieved, for example, by means of ultrasonic welding.

A piston 22 is guided in a longitudinally movable manner in the cylinder 20 of the second damping section.

The piston 32 has a cut-out portion 320, the piston 22 has a cut-out portion 220, and the end region of the spring 40 of the first damping section is accommodated in the cut-out portion 320 and the cut-out portion 220.

In the activated position shown in fig. 1, the piston 32 is supported at the annular collar 302 of the cylinder 30. In addition, as shown in fig. 1, in the activated position, the cylinder 30 is supported by its annular flange 300 at the front face of the annular collar 200 of the cylinder 20.

The piston 32 is guided in the cylinder 30 in such a way that an air gap remains between the piston 32 and the cylinder inner wall, through which air can flow in order to enable the piston 32 to move only in the direction against the force of the spring 40, so that the damping characteristic of the first damping section is essentially determined by the spring 40.

The piston 22 of the second damping section has an annular groove 24, in which annular groove 24 a seal 26 is accommodated. The channel 24 communicates with the inner space 21 of the cylinder 20 of the second damping section by means of channels 28 and 29.

The end region of the cylinder 20 is closed by a cap 60, such as by ultrasonic welding or other conventional means to fixedly attach the cap 60 to the cylinder 20. The holes 202 are located in the end region of the jacket surface of the cylinder 20, through which holes 202 air can escape in a controlled manner when the piston 22 is pressed into the cylinder 20, so that the damping action of the second damping section is achieved.

The damping device as shown in fig. 1 is designed to function as follows: when the plunger 34 is pressurized, the spring 40 is first compressed and the spring 40 sets a lower resistance against the applied force than the second damping section formed by the air damper. The piston 32 is thus moved in the direction of the piston 22 up to a position in which the end faces of the pistons are brought into contact with one another as shown in fig. 2. The partial movement of the furniture part is absorbed as a result of the insertion of the piston 32, so that the movement energy is reduced. The moving energy is then absorbed by the second damping section, which is designed to function as follows:

starting from the position shown in fig. 2, a cylinder 30 with a piston 22 is inserted into the cylinder 20. The air is then compressed in the inner space 21, increasing the pressure in the channels 28 and 29 and in the groove 24, causing the seal 26 to be pressed against the inner wall of the cylinder 20. Thus, air can only escape through the aperture 202, the reaction force exerted by the air producing further damping of the movement of the furniture component until the cylinder 30 is fully housed in the cylinder 20 as shown in fig. 3.

The damping action of the second damping section is preferably designed such that part of the load still acting on the second damping section during compression of the spring 40 is able to overcome the starting friction. This brings the advantage that the second damping section is activated immediately after the state shown in fig. 2, so that the damping device achieves a progressive effect and any rebound of the furniture part can be avoided.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of a damping device according to the invention. The elements shown here are substantially the same as those shown in fig. 1. The difference is that this embodiment has a spring 50, the spring 50 being supported between the base 60 of the cylinder 20 and the front end face area of the piston 22 of the second damping section facing the spring 50. The spring 50 is secured to the neck 62 of the base 60. The spring 50 acts to exert a restoring force on the piston 22 to urge the piston 22 back to the position shown in FIG. 4 when no stress is present. The same therefore applies to the action of the spring 40 on the piston 32.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the end region of the plunger 34 is not equipped with a magnet, but with a bumper 38.

Fig. 5 to 9 show the individual components of the above-described damping device according to the invention. Fig. 5 shows the base 60 of the cylinder 20, the base 60 being fixedly connected to the cylinder 20, preferably by ultrasonic welding or other connection technique, in an airtight manner to ensure that air escapes only through the aperture 202.

Fig. 6 shows the cylinder 20 with the bore 202 and the second damping segment of the collar 200 at the front face where the collar 200 secures the annular flange 300 of the cylinder 30 in the activated position shown in fig. 1 and 4.

Fig. 7 shows the piston 22 with the annular groove 24 and the channels 28, 29, the channel 28 extending radially and the channel 29 extending axially with respect to the cylinder 20 or the piston 22. In addition, as can be seen in fig. 7, the cut-out portion 220 serves to accommodate an end region of the spring 40, the other end region of the spring 40 being accommodated in the cut-out portion 320 of the piston 32.

Fig. 8 shows the telescopic cylinder 30, and it can be seen from fig. 3 that in the inserted state of the damping device, the telescopic cylinder 30 is accommodated in the cylinder 20. The cylinder 30 has an annular flange 300, and in the activated position, the annular flange 300 contacts the front face of the collar of the cylinder 20. In addition, the cylinder 30 has an annular collar 302, the annular collar 302 serving to secure the piston 32 in the activated position shown in fig. 1 and 4.

Finally, fig. 9 shows a piston 32, the piston 32 having a plunger 34 integral therewith and adjacent thereto. The cut-out portion 320 is for receiving an end region of the spring 40; the cut-out portion of the plunger 34 shown on the right hand side is for receiving a magnet 36 (see fig. 1) or a bumper 38 (see fig. 4).

The present embodiment shows the second damping section as an air damper and the first damping section as a spring-loaded damper. In general, other embodiments are also contemplated herein. For example, other conventional damping devices may be utilized to form the air damper.

Claims (15)

1. A damping device (1) for moving furniture parts,

the damping device (1) has at least two damping sections, each of which has a cylinder (20, 30) with a piston (22, 32), in which the pistons (22, 32) can be moved longitudinally and exert a damping action of different strengths.

2. Damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that two damping segments are provided.

3. A damping device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the damping device has a multi-segment, preferably two-segment, telescopic cylinder, the first damping segment of which has a piston (32) loaded by a spring (40) and accommodated in a telescopic cylinder (30), and the second damping segment of which is formed by an air damper.

4. A damping device according to claim 3, characterized in that there is an air gap between the piston (32) and the cylinder (30) of the first damping section, so that the braking effect of the first damping section is substantially produced by the force of the spring (40) acting on the piston (32).

5. A damping device according to claim 1, characterised in that the cylinder (30) of the first damping section has a piston (22) fixedly connected thereto, and the piston (22) has a peripheral seal (26) accommodated in a groove (24), the piston (22) sealingly contacting the wall of the cylinder (20) of the successively following damping section in the insertion direction and contacting the groove wall in the direction of outward movement.

6. A damping device according to claim 5, characterised in that the seal (26) is received in a groove (24) of the piston (22), the groove (24) of the piston (22) communicating with the inner space (21) of the cylinder (20) of the successively following damping section via channels (28, 29).

7. A damping device according to claim 1, characterised in that the piston (32) of the first damping segment and the piston (22) of the second damping segment both have a cut-out portion (220, 320), the end region of the spring (40) of the first damping segment being accommodated in the cut-out portion (220, 320).

8. A damping device according to claim 1, characterised in that the cylinder (30) of the first damping section has an annular flange (300), by means of which annular flange (300) the cylinder (30) is supported at the front face at the collar (200) of the cylinder (20) of the second damping section in the active position.

9. A damping device according to claim 1, characterised in that the cylinder (30) of the first damping segment has an annular collar (302), at which annular collar (302) the piston (32) of the first damping segment is supported in the active position.

10. A damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that the last damping section is formed by an air damper, the cylinder (20) of which has a hole (202) close to the closed end zone in the jacket wall, the diameter of which is much smaller than the diameter of the cylinder (20).

11. A damping device according to claim 1, characterised in that the piston (32) of the first damping section has a plunger (34), a magnet (36) being provided in the end region of the plunger (34).

12. A damping device according to claim 1, characterized in that a spring (50) is arranged in the last damping section, the spring (50) being supported at the base (60) of the cylinder (20) of the last damping section and exerting a return force on the piston (22) of the damping section.

13. A damping device according to claim 12, characterised in that the piston (32) of the first damping section has a plunger (34), a damper (38) being provided in the end region of the plunger (34).

14. The damping device of claim 1, wherein the first damping segment exerts a lower damping effect than the second damping segment.

15. A damping device according to claim 14, characterised in that the second damping segment is designed in such a way that its starting friction can be overcome during the starting of the first damping segment.