A piece of furniture
The flexible tensioning element system allows independent height adjustment of a door element in furniture, simplifying assembly and improving stability by separating the height adjustment from the hinge function.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- AU · AU
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HETTICH HEINZE GMBH & CO KG
- Filing Date
- 2021-05-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-09
AI Technical Summary
Existing furniture designs lack a mechanism to adjust the height of a door element relative to a furniture part independently of the hinge function, complicating assembly and stability.
A flexible tensioning element is used between a first holder on the door element and a second holder on the furniture part, guided via an adjustable deflecting element, allowing height adjustment separate from the hinge function, with a guide web and actuating element for easy adjustment.
Enables simple and stable height adjustment of the door element relative to the furniture part, facilitating easy assembly and enhancing joint stability and uniform appearance.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
It is to be understood that the mere mention of known technologies in this specification is not an admission that they form any part of the common general 25 knowledge in this field of technology. Summary In one aspect, the present invention provides a piece of furniture having a fur-30 niture part on which a door element is mounted- such that it can be pivoted about an axis of rotation via at least one hinge, wherein the door element is adjustable in height relative to the furniture part in the longitudinal direction of the axis of rotation via an adjusting device, wherein the adjusting device comprises a flexible tensioning element which is tensioned between a first holder on the 35 door element and a second holder on the furniture part and is guided via an adjustable deflecting element, wherein the adjusting device has a guide web which is fixed to or integrally formed on the first or second holder and on which the tensioning element is guided and the tensioning element has, on at least one side, an end section which can be fixed to the first or second holder, and 40 wherein the length of the flexible tensioning element between the end section 2021202773 17 Jun 2026 and the guide web can be shortened or lengthened by adjusting the adjusting device In the piece of furniture according to an embodiment of the present technology, 5 a furniture part and a door element are pivotably mounted via at least one hinge, and furthermore these can be adjusted in height relative to one another via an adjusting device which has a flexible tensioning element which is tensioned between a first holder on the door element and a second holder on the furniture part and is guided via an adjustable deflecting element. In this way, 10 the function of the height adjustment can be separated from the function of the hinge, wherein the flexible tensioning element can effect a height adjustment by moving the deflecting element. Thus, an adjustment can be effected by simple means. Furthermore, a lateral actuation of the adjusting device in a position 2021202773 03 May 2021 where the furniture part and the door element are parallel to each other enables a simple assembly. Preferably, the adjustable deflecting element is displaceably guided and contin-5 uously adjustable. For this purpose, an actuating element with a thread can be provided for adjusting the deflecting element, so that the position of the deflecting element is changed by turning the actuating element in order to change the vertical distance between the two holders. 10 The adjusting device can have a fixed or integrally formed channel on the first or second holder, on which the deflecting element is guided. The channel can be aligned in the longitudinal direction both horizontally and vertically or in another direction. If the orientation is horizontal, access to the actuating element can be easily designed, wherein a corresponding tool for rotating the actuating 15 element can be inserted horizontally into a tool receptacle. The adjusting device can optionally have a guide web on the first or second holder, on which the tensioning element is guided. When the tensioning element is moved relative to the guide web, the tensioning element can thus be 20 bent or deflected, with the guide web acting as a floating bearing for connecting the door element to the furniture part. Preferably, the flexible tensioning element is designed as a cable pull, for example as a steel cable, band or chain, so that a movement of the tensioning el-25 ement can take place in different directions. Preferably, the tensioning element is exclusively tensioned, wherein the weight of the door element is held by the tensioning element. Preferably, the weight of the door element is completely absorbed by the tensioning element, and no further supporting elements are provided to support the door element. 30 In a further design, the at least one hinge comprises a pin and a bearing into which the pin is inserted so as to be displaceable in the axial direction. Here, the central axis of the pin defines the axis of rotation of the hinge and, at the same time, the axis of rotation between the furniture part and the door element. 35 As a result, the pin can be rotated relative to the bearing about the axis of rotation, but can be displaced in the axial direction by the adjusting device. In this case, the at least one hinge can have a stop which limits lowering of the door element when the adjusting device is disengated. If, for example, the tensioning element tears, the stop can limit lowering of the door element, e.g. the lowering 2021202773 03 May 2021 movement can thus be designed to be smaller than 10 mm. In this way, the door element is secured against falling out via the at least one hinge. The tensioning element can be passed through a recess on the first or second 5 holder at least on one side for easy assembly and be provided with a thickened end section which is fixed to the first or second holder, wherein this section acts as a fixed bearing for connecting the door element to the furniture part. The respective other side of the tensioning element is deflected at a guide web, as already described, and guided or adjusted at the adjusting device, in order to 10 then also be fixed at a further thickened end section. In addition, the first holder may be screwed to the door element and the second holder may be screwed to the furniture element so that the adjusting device can be easily mounted. In order to prevent unintentional relative lowering or lifting 15 between the furniture part and the door element when the furniture part and the door element pivot relative to each other about the common axis of rotation, at least one fixed bearing or floating bearing is in vertical alignment with the axis of rotation of the at least one hinge. An arrangement in which both the fixed bearing and the floating bearing are aligned with the axis of rotation is also pos- 20 sible. By adjusting the adjusting device, the length of the tensioning element between the fixed bearing and the floating bearing is either shortened or lengthened, wherein preferably the deflection of the tensioning element on the guide web 25 acts as a floating bearing and the fixing of the end section on the first or second holder acts as a fixed bearing. In particular, the length of the flexible tensioning element between the end section and the guide web is shortened or lengthened by adjusting the adjusting device. 30 Particularly preferably, the adjustment of the adjusting device is carried out with a tool that is applied laterally to an actuating element of the adjusting device, while the furniture part and the guide element are positioned parallel to each other, i.e. stacked to form a package, so to speak, and the furniture is thus open on one side towards the user. The piece of furniture according to the invention is preferably designed as a folding sliding door cabinet comprising a furniture body on which the furniture part is pivotably mounted, in particular as a plate-shaped door, and the door element is held displaceably on the furniture body via a guide device. This allows 2021202773 03 May 2021 the furniture part and the door element to be moved like a folding sliding door. Preferably, a plurality of hinges are provided between the door element and the furniture part, which are arranged offset in height. The adjusting device is preferably arranged at a distance from the one or more hinges, for example in a central region of the door element relative to the height. Brief description of the drawings For the purpose of a clearer understanding of the operation of the technology and the structure of selected embodiments, the technology is now explained in more detail below by means of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a piece of furniture according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a view of the furniture part with the door element of the piece of furniture of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a detailed perspective view of a hinge; Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the adjusting device; shows an exploded view of the adjusting device; shows a detailed view of the adjusting device during an adjustment process in the mounted position, and Figs. 7 and 8 show two views of the adjusting device in different positions. Detailed description of an embodiment A piece of furniture 1 comprises a furniture body 2 comprising two side walls 3, wherein one or both side walls 3 may also be a central partition wall in a furniture body 2. The two side walls 3 are connected to each other via a bottom 6 and a top panel, optionally also with a rear wall. A furniture part 4 in the form of a plate-shaped door is pivotably mounted on one of the two side walls 3. A door element 5 is pivotably held on the furniture part 4, wherein the door element 5 is guided on the furniture body 2 on the side facing away from the furniture part 4. For this purpose, a rail can be provided on an end face 7 of the top panel in 2021202773 03 May 2021 order to hold the door element 5 displaceably on the furniture body 2. The furniture 1 is designed as a folding sliding door cabinet. Fig. 2 shows a rear view of the furniture part 4 and the door element 5, which 5 are pivotably held together by two hinges 8. Furthermore, an adjusting device 10 is provided between the furniture part 4 and the door element 5 in order to adjust the height of the door element 5 relative to the furniture part 4. The furniture part 4 is held pivotably on the side wall 3 via hinge parts 9 shown schematically. The plate-shaped furniture part 4 and the door element 5 can be made of 10 wood-based panels or other materials. Fig. 3 shows a hinge 8 in detail. Each hinge 8 comprises a first retainer plate 80 with openings 82 and a second retainer plate 81 with openings 82. Fixed or integrally formed on the first retainer plate 80 is a sleeve-shaped bearing 84 into 15 which a pin 83 is inserted. The pin 83 is fixedly held to the holder 81 at a connecting element 85, but may alternatively be movably held thereto with a releasable detent. As the arrow symbolically shows, the pin 83 is held in the bearing 84 so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction. A central axis of the pin 83 forms an axis of rotation between the furniture part 4 and the door element 20 5. Fig. 4 shows the adjusting device 10 in detail. The adjusting device 10 comprises a first holder 14, which is fixed to the door element 5, and a second holder 11, which is fixed to the furniture part 4. For this purpose, openings 12 25 are cut out in the holder 11 and openings 15 are cut out in the holder 14 for fastening means, such as screws. The substantially plate-shaped holder 11 includes an angled portion 20 which supports a thickened end section 18 to which one end of a flexible tensioning 30 element 13 is fixed. The tensioning element 13 is passed through a slot-shaped recess 19 at the angled portion 20, with the thickened end section 18 being supported on the walls of the angled portion 20. A thickened end section 17 is fixed to the first holder 14, to which the other end 35 of the tensioning element 13 is fixed. This fixing of the tensioning element 13 to the end section 17 corresponds to a fixed bearing for the connection of the door element 5 to the furniture part 4. Furthermore, an actuating element 16 is provided for adjusting the second holder 11 in height relative to the first holder 14. 2021202773 03 May 2021 As shown in Fig. 5, there is an integrally formed channel 26 on the first holder 14, which extends substantially horizontally in the assembled position, but may also be oriented in other directions. A deflecting element 21 is slidably guided in the channel 26, which has a receptacle 22 for a mushroom-head-shaped end 5 section 23 on the actuating element 16. The actuating element 16 is rotatably held in the receptacle 22, but in an axially non-displaceable manner. The actuating element 16 comprises a threaded section threaded into an internal thread on a web 24. The web 24 is held in an axially non-displaceable manner at a recess 25 on the channel 26. As a result, the deflecting element 21 can be dis-10 placed along the channel 26 by turning the actuating element 16. A slot-shaped recess 27 is further formed on the channel 26 into which the thickened end section 17 can be inserted. The thickened end section 17 comprises a groove 28 into which the walls adjacent the slot-shaped recess 27 en-15 gage in the assembled position. This allows the thickened end section 17 to be inserted into and guided by the slot-shaped recess 27 for assembly. The flexible tensioning element 13 is fixed on opposite sides to the end sections 17 and 18. On the holder 14, it is looped around the deflecting element 20 21, so that by displacing the deflecting element 21, the end section 18 is moved closer to the end section 17 or the distance is increased. A guide web 29 is also formed on the first holder 14, on which the flexible tensioning element 13 is guided and deflected. This area, where the guidance or 25 deflection of the tensioning element 13 takes place on the guide web 29, corresponds to a floating bearing for connecting the door element 5 to the furniture part 4. The weight forces are transferred via the tensioning element 13, which is subjected to tensile stress, and the force is transferred via the fixed bearing and the floating bearing into the holders 11 and 14. 30 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the flexible tensioning element 13 is designed as a cable, in particular as a steel cable. It is also possible to design the tensioning element 13 as a band or chain, in which case a certain degree of bendability can be used for the adjustment process. In Fig. 6, the adjusting device 10 is shown in an assembled position, with a tool 30 in the form of an Allen key engaging in a tool receptacle on the actuating element 16. In this case, the adjustment of the adjusting device 10 is advantageously carried out when the furniture part 4 and the door element 5 are 2021202773 03 May 2021 positioned almost parallel to each other, i.e. when the piece of furniture 1 is in the open state. For this purpose, the tool is brought into engagement with the tool receptacle laterally in horizontal alignment in the resulting gap between the furniture part 4 and the door element 5. By turning the actuating element 16, 5 the door element 5 can be adjusted in height relative to the furniture part 4. The entire weight forces of the door element 5 are absorbed by the adjusting device, in particular transmitted by the tensioning element 13. Fig. 7 shows the adjusting device 10 in a first position. The actuating element 10 16 engages with the thread in the web 24 formed as a projection and holds with its end section 23 the deflecting element 21 around which the tensioning element 13 is guided. The door element 5 hangs on the furniture part 4 in that the tensioning element 13 is fixed with a first end to the thickened end section 18 on the second holder 11 and with the other end to the end section 17 on the 15 first holder 14, after it has been guided and deflected over the guide web 29. As already described, the connection of the tensioning element 13 to the end section 18 corresponds here to a fixed bearing and the deflection or guiding of the tensioning element 13 on the guide web 29 corresponds to a floating bearing. In this position, the door element 5 can be pivoted relative to the furniture part 4 20 about the axis of rotation of the hinges 8, wherein the pivoting movement between the guide web 29 and the end section 18 is compensated in a slight rotation of the tensioning element 13 by the flexible design of the tensioning element 13. In order to prevent an unintentional relative lowering or lifting between the furniture part 4 and the door element 5 when the furniture part 4 and the 25 door element 5 pivot against each other about the common axis of rotation, the connection of the tensioning element 13 or end section 18 to the holder 11, which acts as a fixed bearing, is in vertical alignment with the axis of rotation of the at least one hinge 8. The technical operating principle also functions alternatively in a manner not shown here, if instead of the fixed bearing the guide or 30 deflection of the tensioning element 13 acting as a floating bearing on the guide web 29 is in a vertical alignment with the axis of rotation of the at least one hinge 8. A solution in which both the fixed bearing and the floating bearing are in vertical alignment with the axis of rotation of the at least one hinge is also conceivable. The tensioning element 13 acting between the fixed bearing and the floating bearing is clearly arranged at an angle to the vertically aligned axis of rotation, as this causes the door element 5 to move towards the furniture part 4 and, as a result, any tolerances on the hinges 8 can be compensated. As a result, the 2021202773 03 May 2021 joint stability is increased and a more uniform joint appearance is achieved. Preferably, the tensioning element 13 is inclined at an angle smaller than 20° to the vertical orientation of the axis of rotation. 5 In Fig. 8, the adjusting device 10 is shown in an adjusted position compared to Fig. 7. By turning the actuating element 16, the deflecting element 21 has been pushed further into the channel 26, whereby the tensioning element 13 has been displaced along the guide web 29. As a result, the distance between the guide web 29 and the end section 18, i.e. the distance of the tensioning eIe-10 ment 13 between the fixed bearing and the floating bearing, has been shortened, so that the first holder 14 has been raised relative to the second holder 11. By turning in the opposite direction, the first holder 14 can also be lowered again. By adjusting the adjusting device 10, the length of the tensioning element 13 between the fixed bearing and the floating bearing can thus be either 15 shortened or lengthened so that the relative height between the furniture part 4 and the door element 5 can be changed. The adjustment travel of the adjusting device can be, for example, between 5 mm and 50 mm, in particular 5 mm to 10 mm. 20 In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, a deflecting element 21 is provided on only one of the two holders 11 and 14. It is obviously also possible to provide an adjustable deflecting element 21 on each of the two holders 11 and 14 in order to increase the adjustment path. 25 The use of the word “comprising” and its grammatical equivalents “comprises” and “comprise” and the like, are to be taken to include the possibility of other optional elements, and not as excluding the possibility of those other elements. 30 It is also to be understood that the present description and claims discloses a technology that could be implemented in various ways using various equivalent kinds of structural elements, all of which ways and elements are within the scope of the invention as claimed. 2021202773 03 May 2021 List of reference numerals 1 Piece of furniture 2 Furniture body 5 3 Side wall 4 Furniture part 5 Door element 6 Bottom 7 End face 10 8 Hinge 9 10 Hinge part Adjusting device 11 Holder 12 Opening 15 13 14 Tensioning element Holder 15 Opening 16 Actuating element 17 End section 20 18 19 End section Recess 20 Angled portion 21 Deflecting element 22 Receptacle 25 23 24 End section Web 25 Recess 26 Channel 27 Recess 30 28 29 Groove Guide web 30 Tool 80 81 35 82 83 Holding plate Holding plate Opening Pin 84 Bearing 85 Connecting element
Claims
1. Piece of furniture having a furniture part on which a door element is mounted such that it can be pivoted about an axis of rotation via at least one hinge, wherein the door element is adjustable in height relative to the furniture part in the longitudinal direction of the axis of rotation via an adjusting device, wherein the adjusting device comprises a flexible tensioning element which is tensioned between a first holder on the door element and a second holder on the furniture part and is guided via an adjustable deflecting element,wherein the adjusting device has a guide web which is fixed to or integrally formed on the first or second holder and on which the tensioning element is guided and the tensioning element has, on at least one side, an end section which can be fixed to the first or second holder, andwherein the length of the flexible tensioning element between the end section and the guide web can be shortened or lengthened by adjusting the adjusting device.
2. Piece of furniture according to claim 1, wherein the adjustable deflecting element is displaceably guided and continuously adjustable.
3. Piece of furniture according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an actuating element with a thread is provided for adjusting the deflecting element.
4. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adjusting device comprises a channel fixed or integrally formed on the first or second holder.
5. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a vertical alignment of the guide web and / or of an end section of the tensioning element is aligned with the vertical axis of rotation.
6. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible tensioning element is designed as a cable pull, belt or chain.
7. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tensioning element is subjected to tension by the weight of the door element.2021202773 17 Jun 20268. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tensioning element is arranged inclined in its longitudinal extension with respect to the vertically aligned axis of rotation in a region between the end section and the guide web.
9. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one hinge comprises a pin and a bearing into which the pin is inserted in an axially displaceable manner.
10. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one hinge has a stop which limits lowering of the door element when the adjusting device is disengaged.
11. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first holder is screwed to the door element and the second holder is screwed to the furniture part.
12. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the piece of furniture is designed as a folding sliding door cabinet which comprises a furniture body on which the furniture part is pivotably mounted and the door element is held displaceably on the furniture body via a guide device.
13. Piece of furniture according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of hinges are mounted between the furniture part and the door element.