HK1027849B - A braking retardation apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Braking speed reduction equipment

The invention relates to a brake deceleration device for doors or the like, comprising a push rod which can be pressed into a housing against a braking force.

Braking deceleration or damping devices of this type are used, for example, to brake doors, in particular furniture doors, just before their closing position, in order to attenuate the impact and ensure the smoothest possible closing of the doors. The braking deceleration device is particularly applicable in the case of doors and furniture doors provided with a closure device which presses the door towards its closed position and holds it in the closed position. However, this type of brake deceleration device can also be used for other parts, in particular furniture parts, such as drawers or hinge plates, in order to prevent them from reaching or striking their end positions with impact forces and disturbing noise.

From DE 19717937 a1 there is known a braking and damping element for movable furniture parts of this type, in which the housing consists of a cylindrical sleeve and a push rod for a piston which is movable in the sleeve and can be radially expanded, the air contained in the cylindrical chamber being compressible by pressing in the piston, the piston being designed such that the compressed air radially expands the piston so that it rubs against the inner wall of the sleeve.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a brake deceleration device of this type which is simple in design and easy to operate.

A brake deceleration device for a door according to the present invention comprises a push rod which is pressed into a housing against a braking force, wherein a pin-shaped portion and a rectangular portion of the push rod are movable in a circular hole and a rectangular opening of the housing, respectively, and the rectangular portion of the push rod comprises a portion composed of a rack gear which is engaged with a pinion gear of a rotary damper installed in the housing.

Rotary dampers of this type are known and commercially available. It is generally composed of a shaft supported within a closed cylindrical housing with radially projecting plates or fins located within the housing, the shaft being positionally fixed relative to the housing and driving the plates or lugs to rotate without contacting the housing, the sealed housing being filled with a high viscosity fluid, such as silicone oil. The pinion is mounted on a journal extending from the housing. According to a preferred embodiment, the push rod is acted upon by a spring in the push-out direction. Here, the spring can be designed so soft that it cannot overcome the holding force of the door closure.

Suitably, the braking torque of the rotary damper acts only in the push-in direction. Such rotary dampers are also known. In this case, the pinion is connected to the shaft of the support flap by means of a free wheel, which acts, for example, in the push-out direction. In the closed state of the door, the rotary damper does not function since there is a braking torque only when there is relative movement of the components.

The push rod is guided in bores or channels in the mutually opposite housing walls. Suitably, the spring consists of a compression spring which surrounds a portion of the push rod and is sandwiched between the rear housing wall and the rack.

According to another embodiment, this object is achieved by a push rod, which is a piston rod of a piston movably guided in a cylinder filled with a fluid, such as oil, the piston being provided with a through valve hindering the piston from extending with only a small force and hindering the piston from inserting with a large force, a cylinder, a piston, a compression spring, which is clamped between the piston and the bottom of the cylinder, and a head, which is mounted on the piston rod.

For example, the valve may consist of a non-return valve or an annular valve body which, when the piston is extended, exposes a large bore section or a large opening section, and when the piston is pushed in, it reaches its closed position, exposing only a small opening for the fluid which restricts the flow of the fluid to produce the braking action.

Suitably, the head is formed by a cushion of an elastic material, so that the door hits the piston rod with low noise, the cushion constituting a cushion as its soft elasticity does not damage the door.

In another aspect of the invention, the cylinder is fixed in a blind hole on the front side of, for example, the upper panel of a cupboard and is supported at the head of a screw which is screwed into the thread of a sleeve at the bottom of the blind hole. The brake deceleration device can be adjusted to the door closed position by screwing in or out.

Suitably, the bore is fixed in a sleeve having a flange. The sleeve is flush with the outer edge portion of the hole and its flange extends beyond the edge of the hole. In the pressed-in state of the push rod, the head mounted on the piston rod is located in the sleeve.

Another object of the invention consists in providing a braking device for doors, windows or parts of moving furniture, such as drawers, which comprises a push rod which can be pushed into a housing or cylinder against a braking or damping force, which braking device is mounted in a particularly effective manner without giving an unpleasant appearance.

According to the invention this object is achieved by a housing or cylinder fixed to the front side of a frame, such as a crosspiece, a top panel or a side panel of a cupboard, to the outside of which a push rod provided with a fixed head projects.

In a further aspect of the invention, the brake deceleration device according to the invention can be fixed in a substantially unobvious manner in one position on a frame, which is a closing frame of a door, window, drawer or the like, without giving an unpleasant appearance.

Advantageously, the push rod and the housing or cylinder have one or more of the features of the above-described type.

For pivotable furniture parts, such as doors or hinge plates, the braking device can be mounted at such a distance from the hinge side that a good braking action is ensured and the braking force of the braking device is adapted in an optimum manner to the closing torque of the pivotable furniture part.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a top view of a bottom and/or top panel of a cupboard, the door of which is braked by a braking deceleration device in the closing area;

FIG. 2 shows the brake rigging of FIG. 1 with the upper panel removed;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the brake rigging housing corresponding to FIG. 2 with the push rod removed for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a view of the housing as seen in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3;

fig. 5 shows a portion of the area of a blind hole seen through the upper panel of the cupboard, which blind hole receives the cylinder of the braking deceleration device with the braking piston in the extended condition;

FIG. 6 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 5 with the brake piston in the inserted state;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a cylinder with a head made of an elastic material mounted on the piston rod of the brake piston;

figure 8 shows a top view of a bottom and/or top panel of a cupboard with the door or hinge plate of the cupboard braked by a braking deceleration device at an optimum distance from the hinges;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the brake apparatus, wherein the brake apparatus is comprised of a cylindrical body having a flange and a threaded nut;

FIG. 10 is a view of the detent apparatus of FIG. 9 mounted on an upper edge of a drawer opening.

In fig. 1, a view of the open side of the bottom or upper panel 1 of a cupboard 2 can be seen, which can be closed by a door 3 hinged to the side panel 5 of the cupboard 2 by means of conventional hinges 4, for example double-jointed hinges, the closing device generating a closing pressure. To prevent any undesired impact of the door 3 in its closed position, a braking deceleration device 6 is fixed to the bottom or upper panel 1, the push rod 7 of which in the open position of the door protrudes beyond the plane of the opening of the cupboard 2 in the manner shown, so that the braking deceleration device brakes the door in the door closing area by the door, while pressing the push rod 7 inwards, dissipating its rotational energy until the door reaches the closed position under the damping action.

In fig. 1 and 2, the positions that the door and the push rod 7 occupy each other when the door 3 hits the push rod 7 in the closing area are indicated by continuous lines. The closed position of the door when the push rod 7 is inserted is indicated by a dot-dash line.

The damping device 6 consists of a rectangular pot-shaped housing 8, the open upper side of which can be closed by a top plate 9, which top plate 9 can be pressed in, for example, in an incomplete manner. The housing 8 has a transverse wing-like projection 11 in the plane of the base plate 10, the projection 11 being provided with an oblong hole 12, the hole 12 forming a mounting hole for a mounting screw 13. Due to the oval-shaped hole 12, the brake deceleration device 6 can be aligned in the axial direction of the push rod in a desired manner.

The front wall 14 of the housing 8 is provided with a rectangular opening 15 for the push rod 7, which is also rectangular in cross-section, and the rear wall 16 with a circular hole 17 for passing through a pin-shaped part 18 of the push rod 7. The rectangular cross-sectional portion of the push rod 7 within the housing 8 serves as a rack portion 19. The rear end of the rack portion 19 is provided with an internally threaded bore in which the pin 18 is screwed. The pin 18 passes through a compression spring 20 which is sandwiched between the rear side of the rack portion 19 and the edge of the aperture 17. The pin 18 is provided at its rear end, which passes through the hole 17, with a head 21, which in the pushed-out position of the push rod 7 forms a stop against the rear housing wall 16.

A cap 22 made of rubber or other cushioning material is fixed to the front end of the push rod 7.

A cylindrical housing 24 of a rotary damper 25 is fixed to the housing side plate 23, and a pinion 26 is attached to a journal of the rotary damper 25 extending out of the housing. The rack part of the push rod 7 and the pinion 26 mesh in a manner visible from fig. 2. The rotary damper 25 is designed such that the pinion applies a braking force to the push rod 7 only in the push-in direction, while the push rod 7 can be pushed out again with little effort by the compression spring 20, which can be achieved, for example, by mounting a freewheel on the rotary damper. The spring 20 can therefore be designed with only a very weak force, so that the hinged closing mechanism can overcome the spring force in the closed state of the door 3.

A second embodiment of the brake deceleration device according to the invention is now described by means of figures 5 to 7. The braking deceleration device consists of a cylinder 30, in which cylinder 30 a piston (not shown) is movably guided. The piston is connected to a piston rod 31 which passes through a bore of a cylinder cap (not shown) provided with a seal. The cylinder 30 is filled with a fluid, for example oil of suitable viscosity, which passes from the rear cylinder chamber into the front cylinder chamber and vice versa, when the piston moves inside the cylinder 30. The piston is provided with one or more holes or an annular opening bridged by a rod, which can be closed by the flap or the valve body in such a way that the hole or the opening is open in the push-out direction of the piston, while when the piston is pushed in, the flap or the valve seat is moved into its closed position, in which only a throttle cross section is open, the size of which is such that the piston rod can only be pushed into the cylinder with a given resistance.

The piston is subjected to compression by a compression spring sandwiched between the piston and the bottom of the cylinder. As can be seen in fig. 5 and 7, the compression spring urges the piston towards the extended position.

A cap 32 made of an elastic material is fixed to the piston rod 31, which ensures that the door 33 is gently pushed onto the piston rod 31 without damage.

The door 33 is hinged, for example, to a side panel 35 of a cupboard, by means of a conventional connecting hinge 34. The upper cupboard panel 36 is provided with a blind hole 37 at the bottom of which is a threaded sleeve 38, for example made of copper. A screw 39 is screwed into the thread of the threaded sleeve 38, and the cylinder 30 of the braking deceleration device is supported on the head 40 of the screw. In the blind hole 37 there is also fixed a sleeve 41, the circumferential annular flange 42 of which sleeve 41 bears on the edge of the hole in the manner shown. In the pushed-in state of the piston rod 31, a cap or head 32 fixed to the piston rod 31 is located inside the sleeve 41.

The force of the compression spring pushing the piston outwards is less than the force keeping the door 33 closed, so the compression spring cannot push the door open via the piston and the piston rod 31.

From fig. 8, the braking device assembly 50 is seen, which is located on the front side of the upper or lower panel of the cupboard 2, at an optimal distance a from the hinged side of the door or hinge plate 52. Depending on the distance a of the braking device 50 from the hinge 53 of the door or flap, which acts with different opening angles in the closing region, the door or flap acts with different forces on the braking device depending on the lever length given by the distance a. The distance a is selected based on the thickness or weight of the door or hinge plate. Suitably, the distance a is at least substantially equal to half the width of the door as measured from the hinge side.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the braking device 50 has a cylindrical body 51 provided with a front flange 52 for contact with the edge of the hole. The cylinder 51 is provided with a thread 53 and a nut 54 can be screwed onto the thread 53.

The front end of the cylinder has a recess or void into which a head 56 of resilient material may be dropped in the manner shown by the dotted lines.

Another example of the components of the braking device 50 can be seen in fig. 10. Beneath the upper edge of the drawer opening is provided a rail 57 secured to the drawer body and having a through hole as shown. A braking device of the type shown in fig. 9 is fixed in the through-hole in such a way that the flange 52 bears on the front edge region of the through-hole. The braking device 50 is fixed in the through hole by a nut 54 screwed on the cylindrical body 51.

Claims (9)

1. A brake deceleration device for a door (3) comprising a push rod (7) which can be pressed into a housing (8) against a braking force, characterized in that,

the pin-shaped part (18) and the rectangular part (19) of the push rod (7) can move in the circular hole (17) and the rectangular opening (15) of the housing (8), respectively, and the rectangular part of the push rod (7) comprises a part consisting of a rack (19) which meshes with a pinion (26) of a rotary damper mounted in the housing (8).

2. The brake deceleration device according to claim 1, wherein the push rod (7) is pressed in the push-out direction by a compression spring (20).

3. Brake deceleration device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the braking torque of the rotary damper (25) acts only in the push-in direction.

4. Brake deceleration device according to claim 1, characterized in that the push rod (7) is guided in a bore (17) or opening (15) of mutually opposite housing walls (14, 16).

5. The brake deceleration device according to claim 2, wherein the compression spring (20) surrounds a portion (18) of the push rod (7) and is sandwiched between the rear housing wall (16) and the rack portion (19).

6. Brake deceleration device according to claim 1, characterized in that the push rod is a piston rod (31) of a piston guided movably in a cylinder (30), the cylinder (30) being filled with oil, the piston being provided with a channel valve which impedes the piston from extending with low resistance and impedes the piston from inserting with high resistance, the compression spring being sandwiched between the piston and the bottom of the cylinder (30), the piston rod (31) being fixed with a head (32).

7. Brake deceleration device according to claim 6, wherein the head (32) consists of a soft pad made of an elastic material.

8. Braking and deceleration device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the cylindrical body is fixed in a blind hole located on the front side of the upper panel of the cupboard, the cylindrical body being supported on the head of a screw screwed in the thread of a sleeve located at the bottom of the blind hole.

9. Brake deceleration device according to claim 8, characterized in that a sleeve (41) provided with a flange (42) is fixed in the blind hole (37).